Stathis awoke to the clamour of bells and metal, hearing soldiers moving somewhere nearby. Something was on her forehead, a wet cloth sliding off her forehead as she moved. She was in the command tent, resting on a stretcher.

A shadow fell over her, and she looked up, Janaxia looming over, hair falling down and shadowing her face, before Pajaran pushed her away, hands already flickering through a spell.

‘Oh good, you’re awake.’ She tapped a finger against Stathis’ forehead, cool and soothing energy washing out. ‘Does anything hurt?’

‘No.’ Stathis managed to rise, despite Pajaran looming over her. ‘Don’t worry, I’m fine. Just another vision. Which… was maybe more helpful than before? Although not by much, I guess. Told me that the Blade was going to stab me through the heart.’

‘Oh. That sounds very direct.’

‘Yeah. Probably something to worry about later. What’s going on, and where’s my armour? Also, how did I end up back here?’

‘Janaxia called for help. Kivata came to get me, and I dragged you back. Under a sheet, just so no-one got the wrong idea.’

‘Thanks – don’t want any rumours starting.’ She rose, brushing off Pajaran’s hand. ‘Don’t worry, I’m fine. What’s the alarm?’ She could hear the sounds of troops moving outside, horns blowing. ‘That’s a call to arms, form up at the front. What’s going on?’

‘An attack. It looked large, but I came in to check on you. I’m sure that everyone can handle it, so…’

Stathis looked past her, seeing her armour laid out and ready for use, along with the padded under-clothing. Pajaran sighed. ‘There’s no keeping you away, is there?’

‘I might not want it, but this is my army, so I can’t really just relax at the back! If anything goes to shit, I have to take responsibility for it. Which is a lot easier if I know what it actually is!’ She shrugged the surcoat on, before starting to put the rest of her armour over the top, starting with the breastplate. Pajaran moved to help her, tightening straps and sliding buckles not place, making the process a lot faster, as the horns blew again, Stathis moving as fast as she could.

‘Do we know what or who?’

‘Nope. Looked big and magical, but whether that was a wizard or more random elementals I don’t know. We’ve got enough magical stuff of our own to maybe try and draw them away, but they’re a bugger to actually destroy.’

‘Where’s Hakara? She would be the best at this. Or Janaxia.’

‘Hakara’s already there, but she’s not had much sleep so I don’t know how useful she will be. Janaxia’s with her Sethans, she was celebrating. You two talk things through OK?’

‘For now, I guess. Although apparently I’m destined to die, so it might be short-term!’

‘Well, you always were one to love and leave.’ Pajaran knelt down to strap the greaves into place, sturdy metal protecting Stathis’ shins. ‘Think that’s everything then. I’ve had a lot of shields made in preparation as well, given how often you break them!’

‘That means they’re doing their job! Better they get sliced up than I do!’ Although the stack of shields in the corner did seem excessive, all emblazoned with a “sun” motif, bright yellow, a few even with touches of gold. ‘Is the symbol necessary?’

‘Hey, you’re a general now. Got an army and everything.’

‘Yeah, and they’re in shit, apparently! You want a lift?’

‘I’ll ride, thanks. Don’t want you to strain yourself before a battle.’

Horns sounded again – a defensive order, to form up into tight lines. Whoever they were fighting must be putting up a fight to need that!

‘OK, I’ll see you there. Try not to die.’

‘You too.’ They knocked their knuckles together, armour clanging, before heading for the exit. Stathis flared her wings, arcs of light flaring from her back, before jumping up and using them to flap upwards. It wasn’t the whole army being deployed, at least not yet, although everyone was gearing up for battle, even those meant to be resting starting to slip into armour, making sure weapons were close at hand.

The blaring horns made it easy to tell which way to go, the area being an open plain with nothing to block the noise. From up here, she could see that there was a walled town, built around a keep, and surrounded by a moat. Defenders lined the wall, a mixture of townsfolk with old or improvised weapons, and what looked like actual soldiers. Outside the walls a battle was occurring – she could see her own soldiers arranged in proper military order, shields up, spears poking forward. Loose skirmish formations moved between the blocks, slingers and light cavalry waiting to charge, launching probing attacks.

Three elemental enemies were leaving their marks on the battlefield – two fiery cyclones were melting away the undergrowth, leaving trails of ash behind them, each at least the height of the walls. Behind them could be seen evidence of their destruction, farms and fields burnt to cinders. The third was formed of earth, solid and slow, but from the arrows embedded into it, probably almost impossible to destroy. And behind them was an enemy force – several hundred strong, banners flapping in the breeze.

Some of them were cavalry – people mounted on giant lizards, scales or armour catching the sunlight, long lances slung over saddles. The infantry weren’t formed into protective blocks, but were arranged into looser formations, each with their own banners. Sethans! She looked back over her shoulder at her own camp – could she go back and fetch Janaxia? That would probably take too long!

It looked as though there had been some fighting, with injuries on both sides, those wounded having been dragged behind the main lines and getting tended to. The elementals were rampaging between the armies, making attacks beyond a few desultory bowshots or slingstones. Those on the town walls weren’t attacking either, the three sides all staring at each other, unwilling to break the uneasy détente.

What to do first? And how would the other sides take her appearance mid-fight? She sighed to herself – this was a lot harder to sort out than just being able to charge in directly! One of her own solders looked up and spotted her, and she tried to remember to order people to look up more, as she probably wasn’t the only flier around. They nocked an arrow, Stathis started to jink and weave, before another of the solders stopped them. And another order to not shoot her!

She dove down, coming into a running landing, jogging to reduce her speed, tucking her wings in and trying to avoid blinding anyone. Where was whoever was in charge? Or Hakara?

One of those questions was answered when shards of ice shot through the air, flash-heating into steam as they struck the heat surrounding one of the fire elementals. Stathis followed them back to the source, leaping into an awkward wing-assisted leap, vaulting over the defensive lines, landing next to Hakara, magical aura flaring around her. She heard pained exclamations from behind her and shouted an apology, hoping her wings hadn’t blinded too many people.

‘What’s going on? More random elementals?’

‘I think so, yes. They don’t appear to be under anyone’s command, but are more powerful than what we have faced before.’ A few arrows dropped from the air, the shafts bursting into flames and then ash, the heat too fierce for them.

‘Dammit. Any casters with appropriate spells? Or that can deal with the earth one?’

‘Everyone was prepared for travel rather than combat today.’ Hakara looked exhausted, grey bags beneath her eyes. ‘And I have already exhausted most of my arcane energies.’

‘Don’t worry about it. And the town? And the Sethans?’

A solder pushed through, their shoulder markings showing their rank, quickly saluting her. ‘Commander Stathis.’

She saluted back, trying to keep her wings tucked in. ‘What’s happening?’

‘Our outriders had encountered the town, and were going to buy some supplies from them. However, the elementals attacked before we could complete the delivery. And an enemy detachment launched their own attack, and so the call for reinforcements was sounded.’

‘Have they actually attacked?’ Down here, it was harder to see what was going on, the elementals blocking her vision.

‘They formed up, but the elementals attacked prior to full combat – there was some light skirmishing, no casualties.’

‘Good. Well, they’re probably better with magical attacks than we are – I’ve never seen elementals that large! I wouldn’t want to get close to them. And I guess ranged attacks do nothing?’

‘That seems correct, Commander.’

‘Dammit. And even Semari would struggle punching a pillar of fire to death! And nothing from the town?’

‘They have a militia and some mercenaries, but only a few dozen with any skill.’

‘Probably for the best they’re behind the walls then.’ The fire elementals were swirling towards the town, but twisting and spinning through the fields, leaving destruction behind them. The earth elemental seemed more focused, flinging an arm out, a boulder flying forward and smashing against the town wall, cracks forming.

‘Crap, it won’t stand up to many more attacks like that.’ The defenders on the wall had scattered away from the point of impact. ‘Gather up anyone that can do something useful into one place, I’m going to go talk to those Sethans. They might have some magical powers or something!’

Before anyone could object, she jumped into the air and flew off. The heat in the air got hot and fierce as she flew over the flaming pillars, the updraught powerful enough to push her higher upwards. Several of the Sethans had noticed her, pointing up at her, covering their eyes from the brightness of the sun. One of the fire elementals turned, the pillar of flame crackling and shifting, rough outline of a face appearing for a moment. A crackling glob of fire shot out, burning through the air, hot enough that she felt herself sweating inside her armour. She flew higher, trying to stay out of range, another huge bolt of fire shooting through the air. This one exploded, a shockwave of force buffeting her, as she dropped down, drawing her sword.

The heat stung her eyes, and she couldn’t even tell where the thing started and what was just thick, cloying haze around them. It was like trying to fight heat-haze! She swung her sword through it, unable to tell if it was doing anything.

Her armour was heating up, absorbing the energy the thing was putting out. She needed some ice to keep herself cool! Slicing further forward, the air seemed even thicker, but that might just be extra strain from the heat. She could feel her skin starting to prickle and spike with fierce heat – in her armour, she wouldn’t be able to manage much longer!

Another slash, and she flapped her wings, glad that they were energy and not physical, putting some distance between her and it. Ahead of her, the Sethan pennants fluttered – black silk emblazoned with bright silver and red, although it looked like it might have been a repurposed rug. The shape on it was some kind of interlocked sequence of silver rings, with red runes in the corners. A few slingstones arced upwards, lacking the energy to reach her. Who was in charge?

One of the lizard-riders stood out, their skin a steely grey, with chains of black metal wound around their chest and over their arms, blades dangling from their wrists. Some weird Sethan weapon, probably. He was watching her, jewellery hanging from a single horn that projected from the right-hand side of his head. The Sethan forces rippled, weapons getting readied. There was a group of people in elaborate clothing, stood in a cluster, jewelled rods and wands in hand – good, they had some spellcasters.

She landed, sheathing her sword but keeping a hand on the hilt, hoping her armour would cool off soon. Trying to present an attitude of power was hard when she was sweating like a pig! Now to hope they spoke the same language as her…

‘There’s no need for us to fight.’ There was a distance of about thirty paces between them – if they charged, then she wouldn’t have much of a chance to get airborne before they were on top of her! But they weren’t attacking yet, even though she could see lances being adjusted, set into the rings on saddles. ‘If you want to buy food, then we need to deal with the elementals first.’

They stared at her, the chain-wrapped man making his lizard take a few steps forward – it hissed at her, long tongue licking the air. The blades on his wrists twisted and writhed as he moved, the steel shining blue with a blue lustre. Beneath the chains, she could see tattoos or scars etched onto his chest, stark black lines woven into rings and chains, the same symbol as on the pennant in the middle of his chest.

‘If your spellcasters can deal with the fire elementals, then mine can fight the earth one. And then we can sort out some way to share the food.’

He stared at her, face cold and expressionless before speaking, voice halting and gravelly. ‘This shall be our home. The elements themselves shall not keep it from us. I have promised this to those that have sworn themselves to me.’

‘I guess Zarazonnia is out of touch, if she’s still alive? But you can’t claim here. Settle, maybe if you can buy the land or ask the town. They might be happy to have some soldiers around. I’m not sure how well you can see from down here, but my own forces outnumber yours. Unless you’ve got a lot of reinforcements hidden away somewhere? If you don’t, then you may as well help me and then you might get a reward.’

‘Those who serve me do so in expectation of reward.’ The fighters around him were getting more restive, their eyes flickering between her and the elementals behind her. She could feel heat increasing against her back, and hoped that it was just her armour still being hot, rather than the thing approaching, but didn’t dare to turn around.

‘If we fight, everyone loses. Work with me, and we can all make our way through this.’ She tightened her grip on her sword, wishing that Janaxia was here. Another soldier, his armour ornamented with golden tassels, moved his lizard close to the leaders, whispering something into their ear. His hands made gestures, describing a curling shape spiralling out from his head, and Stathis relaxed slightly.

‘An ally of the Karhacki?’

‘She is at the main camp. We’ve collected quite a few other Sethans as we’ve moved – you’re welcome to join them. But that means no attacking settlements! There’s more important things to worry about.’ The heat on her back was definitely getting stronger, her back starting to blister, and she caught the whiff of burning hair, giving her head a quick shake to try and dispel it. ‘So we deal with the elementals and then figure everything else out, right?’

He shook his arms, chains rattling and unwinding themselves, the blades headed twisting in the air like snakes. Stathis shifted her balance, readying herself for combat, but didn’t yet draw her blade.

He raised a hand, the blades mimicking his movement. Stathis tried to guess their length – if he did attack, he would have the reach advantage, and he’d probably try and use them to grab her and charge past, dragging her along the ground. Flying away would probably be the easiest, although maybe she could bait them into charging the elementals? At least that would weaken them, bleed off some of their strength. She unfurled her wings, ready to take flight, her eyes on the slowly moving chain-blades.

He screamed something, words Stathis didn’t recognise, but she saw the casters behind him begin to wave their hands, energy flickering between them, forming crackling lines of blue light.

From above, she heard the bellow of another horn – “aid given”? Who was giving aid, they didn’t have any support units! She looked up, seeing two birds flapping through the clear blue sky. It took her a moment to realise they were huge, large enough that each was bearing a rider. They swooped down, a beam of energy shooting out towards one of the fire elementals. The black beam sliced through the heat-haze, cutting away a chunk of burning energy. It slid away, falling to the ground, igniting the already-scorched earth, burning the soil into slick-smooth obsidian. The creature roared, sending out a pulsing ripple-wave of fire, Stathis covering her eyes against the stinging heat.

Another beam flashed out, this one hitting the centre of the flaming mass. The giant creature paused, before flowing back into the same shape, but seeming thinner and more stretched-out now.

The chanting came to a climax, a giant shard of ice hurtling back over her head, shooting towards the probably-wounded creature. It started to melt as it neared it’s target, but had enough mass to make it all the way there and hit, hanging in the super-hot plasma for a moment before hissing away into steam. The horn sounded again, from the other eagle rider – a priority message to form up? Who were they – had Parth found some elves somewhere? From down here, she couldn’t see the riders as anything other than gleaming armour-clad figures.

She turned back to the leader of the Sethans. ‘Keep attacking, I need to see who they are. We’ll sort everything out later!’ She jumped, wings lending her speed, heading upwards as a blast of fire shot upwards as well, the eagles weaving around it.

As she moved upwards, she tried to see what was going on – her own forces were still lined up, a few other casters adding their own attacks, bolts and darts of energy doing little against the column of living flame. Over to the east, she could see thin lines of smoke, coming up from within a forest. A forest fire? Or something more?

One of the eagle-riders dropped down, the eagle having to circle around to stay on-level, unable to hover. They were dressed in a streamlined Iristari uniform, with goggles covering their eyes, clipped into a harness-saddle on the eagle. They were hunched low over the eagle, the rushing air making their clothing flap around, and had to unclip a mouth-covering before they could speak.

‘I don’t know who the hell you are or where you came from, but we need all forces at point G-7! Orders from on high, march hard and fast, and ­now!’

‘What’s going on? I’ve been out of touch for a while.’

They glanced downwards, taking in Stathis’ forces. ‘The eight expeditionary? You were thought dead. And you must have done well to acquire some extra equipment!’

‘It’s been complicated! And there’s been quite a lot of changes.’ She tried to make out their markings, the badge hard to see thanks to the wind making it ripple and flap, before she could make out the sword-and-wings pattern. ‘Winged Guard? Where did the eagles come from?’

‘The elves. I don’t know the details, but a lot of favours have been called in! Never expected to march with them, but they’re damn good scouts. But we need everyone, as soon as possible.’

For once, it was fortunate not to be recognised – they seemed to think the wings were a magical item? Well, that saved a lot of awkward questions!

‘More Sethans?’

‘I saw their leader – half-snake, and with six arms! She’s worth several hundred men by herself. We’ve been ordered to find anyone that can hold a sword and stand up and gather them together. Go east, as fast as you can march. At least once this has been dealt with.’

Stathis looked down – one of the fire elementals had withered away to a pathetic heat-haze, giving enough space for her forces to charge and attack the earth elemental. While it was powerful, at least it was physical enough to be hurt, enchanted weapons slicing into rock and earth. The other fire elemental was howling with bursts of flame, as another massive icicle pierced through it.

‘Let the main command know that I’ve got Sethan allies, that I’ve recruited as auxiliaries. We’ll finish here and then move over.’ And gods only knew what would happen then!

The rider saluted. ‘Put your rank-marks on though, the High Commander doesn’t like not knowing who people are!’

Stathis winced as she saluted back. Why were things never simple?