*** Mili ***

The reek of blood slammed into my face as I stepped into the dark stone room. There were torches lining the walls, but only enough to give a basic level of visibility. Hammocks hung from the ceiling in chains of four with simple rope ladders that led to the highest ones, but for right now only the lowest level were occupied.

According to Lieutenant Betheren, it was supposed to be a barracks for the guards, but there were so few of them that they only actually occupied one corner of it. Right now, it was being used as a safe place for the villagers that had made it to Fort Heferal in the midst of the attack. One corner had been sectioned off with blankets to set up a makeshift infirmary. I immediately recognized what it was for as I saw the distinctive dark marks of blood on the curtain and heard the moans of pain coming from the other side.

“Alright Kene, you should be safe here,” Sterthen said as he tried to set the young girl down in a free hammock as far away from the infirmary as possible. She was clinging to his chest, refusing to let go.

“Don’t,” Kene said, muffled by his chest plate.

“It’s okay honey. I know it’s scary out there, but in here nothing can get to you. Me and mommy are going to go and make outside safe again so we can all go home. Can you be extra brave and stay here until we’re done killing all those evil monsters,” he said, trying to pull her away from his chest again, but she kept holding on, whining in stubborn refusal.

Sterthen shot a glance to Nephern, and a surprisingly gentle look came over her face. Every time she looked at me today, I felt like a cold wind had just blown by me. Like she knew I was doing something wrong, but I had no way of knowing what it was.

As I saw her look down at Kene, she wore the same stern face, but somehow it felt different.

As far as I could tell, she was still making the same face – the same piercing eyes, the same taut lips, the same wrinkle in her brow – but it felt more like I had my face turned up to the sun than a cold wind. She was radiating a sense of steadiness, like just her presence was enough to make sure that everything was fine. I don’t think that feeling was meant for me so much as it was for Kene, but as I looked on I basked in its warmth anyway.

“Kene, look at me.”

It seemed to work, as Kene finally pulled her face away from Sterthen’s chest and looked up at her mother.

“Mommy… please don’t go… I don’t want you to d- d-,” she stuttered out, unable to finish that thought as tears overtook her. Nephern stepped over and swept her out of Sterthen’s arms, pulling her into a quick hug.

“I would never dream of it. Me and your dad are the strongest people here. End of story. Nothing out there can beat us.”

It was clear she was just saying that to reassure Kene, but I still couldn’t sense any doubt or deception in her words.

“Hey, we need to go,” Betheren said, awkwardly trying to break up the family’s conversation. “You all still aren’t supposed to be here. We need to go talk to the Sun Lord as soon as possible.”

Nephern’s cold wind returned as she glared at him, but Sterthen put a hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll be right there. Just give us one more second.”

Betheren kept fidgeting but didn’t say anything else.

Nephern finally started to set down Kene. She still struggled to hold onto her mother like she had with Sterthen, but Nephern didn’t give her the chance, pulling steadily until her grip was broken and she was on the hammock. Nephern reached back and fiddled with a pouch around her waist, pulling out a small pouch sack.

“You’re lucky these were still in my bag, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought them,” she said, setting the sack down in Kene’s outstretched hands. “Remember to savor them. They should last you plenty of time, so I don’t want to come back here and see that you’ve eaten them all before the sun comes up. Alright?”

I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but Kene nodded quietly, tears still forming in her eyes.

“Alright honey, I love you. We’ll be back soon,” Nephern said with a tone of finality, pressing her forehead up against Kene’s. Sterthen stepped up and did the same.

“You be a good girl Kene. Don’t make too much trouble for the guards,” he said, smiling. She didn’t return it. The two turned away for a moment, about to leave with Betheren until Sterthen did an about face.

“Guisen,” he said, calling out to the older man who had come in with us. He had set the woman on his back down in one of the hammocks next to Kene’s. She still hadn’t woken up.

Guisen turned to Sterthen with the same timid look he had worn the entire night. I had only just met him earlier that night, so I couldn’t tell if it was just his nature or if there was some kind of bad blood between him and the family, but he still listened intently as he spoke.

“Please watch out for Kene while we’re gone.”

Guisen quickly nodded in return. “Of course. After what you did for me tonight, it’s the least I can do.”

Then Sterthen turned to me, and I already knew what he was going to ask. I had been standing here, watching this interaction because I felt like I owed it to the family after they had saved me, but I was having to hold myself in place there. The smell of blood and sounds of the injured emanating from behind the curtain were pounding against my will.

“Can you also look over her, Mili?”

I wanted to say yes so badly. I felt a strong sense of gratitude toward them, but there was somewhere else I had to be, and I wasn’t sure how to say it without sounding ungrateful.

“I’m a medic,” I said after a moment, swallowing hard and looking over toward the bloody blankets. “I’ll look out for her as much as I can, but there are other people who need my help right now.”

I expected the two of them to be angry. Looking out for Kene was the least I could do and I was refusing. Surprisingly, they both seemed incredibly understanding. Approving even.

“I see. Then whatever help you can offer is more than enough. You don’t need to humor us anymore, go and get to work,” he said with no spite in his voice and turned to Betheren to leave. I waited for the door to close behind them and gave one last glance at Kene and Guisen. She was silently looking down at the bag Nephern had given her and he was tending to the woman he brought. There wasn’t anything I could do for her right now, but I’d come back and check in a moment. I finally let my feet move from where they had been frozen and dashed off toward the infirmary.

It wasn’t good.

Infirmaries are places of pain and suffering by their very nature, so they never really are pleasant, but this one was by far the worst I’d ever seen. During my time travelling, I’ve helped a lot of people, usually with small things like first aid or common illnesses that just need attention and simple medicine to recover from.

Recently, in a village near the base of Magru’Tarn, two woodcutters had been gathering firewood. One struck a tree at an odd angle, just right to knock the blade of his machete free from the hilt and send it flying off. It caught the second man in the thigh. Me and dad rode into town a couple of days later. The village had a local healer, but he was only able to do so much, and the wound became infected with a vile fungus. Dad had seen it before and had a treatment to stop the infection from spreading any farther, but we had no way of curing the flesh that was already affected. We had to remove the leg.

He ended up surviving, which was a silver lining, but the process was harrowing for everyone involved.

That was only the most recent case I could think of. It wasn’t the worst thing I had ever seen by any means, but it was up there. Cases that extreme were rare, since their severity usually meant there was an incredibly small window of time to actually help. They only happened when we were in the right place at the right time. Me and dad maybe ran into a handful each year and having to deal with multiple at the same time was even more uncommon.

Laying before me were nearly three dozen people, all just as badly injured as the man from the Magora village. I saw that there were a handful of medics, running from person to person and trying to help, but there weren’t enough.

I stepped through the curtain and saw an older woman desperately holding a bloody cloth pressed down against the chest of a young boy laying on a hammock. She turned her head as soon as she heard me enter, her eyes quickly darting over me. They locked on the boy on my back wrapped in the bloody blanket and it seemed to be enough information for her.

“If you’ve got someone who needs help, please find an open hammock. We’ll get to them as soon as possible. If it’s urgent, I’ll be over as soon as I’m finished here,” she said, turning back to the boy below her as soon as she had assessed the situation.

“He’s fine. He’s got an old injury, but he’s stable. I’m here to help,” I responded as calmly as possible. Dad always said the most important thing to do in an emergency was to keep a calm head. The older woman clearly had the same philosophy, as she quickly responded with a cool and collected voice.

“Can you dress a wound?”

“Yes, and more.”

“Good. Go set them down and get over here.”

I ran to the nearest open hammock, then thought better of it. The spaces closest to the entrance should be kept open for emergencies. I took him a little bit farther back and set him down. I pulled back the blanket to quickly check his condition, but he still seemed to be fine, so I covered him back up. He was Magora after all. I hoped it wouldn’t cause problems, but I wasn’t sure how the villagers would react. It would be best if he didn’t attract too much attention.

I ran back over to the woman just in time to see her pulling the cloth up from the wound. The boy had a chunk taken out of his shoulder. It was a shallow wound, but very wide with regular indentations around the edges, like teeth marks. It looked like a bite, although not from any creature I had seen before. The flying creatures all looked different, so it was probably one of them.

The rag was soaked through with blood. As the older woman pulled it away though, it didn’t seem like the wound was bleeding profusely anymore. She nodded down at it and was already packing up her things to move on to the next person.

“Pack the wound and wrap it tight, then come find me,” she said, already walking toward another hammock.

I got to work. It was going to be a long night.

*** Nephern ***

“I sent word to the Sun Lord that you all were here. He’s waiting in the strategic command hall,” Lieutenant Betheren explained, walking us through the hallways of the fort.

We left Kene in the barracks. It was on the ground level of the largest tower of the fort. The command hall was at the top of the tower opposite that. We wound our way through the guard tower until we got to a staircase that led up to the top of the walls. We cautiously peeked our heads out and only saw the guards standing atop it with their bows. There were no creatures up here right now, so it should be safe.

But something was off.

It was quiet. Not completely silent, but definitely not as loud as it had been before. I couldn’t hear the sounds of combat from the streets below and the screeches that the creatures made weren’t ringing out. The guards weren’t standing at attention either. They were standing there with slack jaws and their bows held limply at their sides. They were all staring off into the distance.

I pushed Betheren out of the way and stepped out onto the rampart, following the guards gaze and understanding what was happening.

The reason I couldn’t hear fighting anymore was that the creatures weren’t in the streets. Dozens… no, hundreds of the creatures were all there, hovering in place about ten feet above the rooftops, eye level with us on the ramparts of the fort.

“Ready yourselves,” I shouted at the guards to try and snap them out of their trances. It worked to a certain extent. They all looked at me, but only a handful actually heeded my orders and drew their weapons. Some just stared, the gravity of the situation locking them in place.

Sweet Light, these borderlanders were useless.

Betheren had stepped out beside me and surveyed the scene. “Men, to arms,” he shouted out, giving the same order I had. A few more finally took the initiative to move, but over a quarter of the men on the walls were still just staring, dead eyed.

I wanted to scream, seeing those fools refuse to move, but I didn’t have the time. I fixed my eyes on the creatures, preparing my spear and bracing to see what they would do next.

Strangely enough, they didn’t charge us. They just held their positions there. Watching us.

Any moment, they would come charging in. I could feel it. Fort Heferal wasn’t built to defend against an aerial attack, so they would easily be able to sweep over the walls and invade the courtyards, but they wouldn’t be able to easily make it inside the towers. We could back up and defend the door we had come out of. Sterthen was thinking the same thing and was already positioning himself near the door to give cover to the guards as they made a break for it. Forcing the creatures inside and making them fight us one at a time in the corridors, we should even be able to fend off this number. Assuming the useless idiots on top of the wall did the bare minimum, there was still a good chance we could win.

I was rolling through the game plan in my mind as I waited for them to move. And waited. And waited. They were still just hovering there. Suddenly, a whole minute had rolled by and they still hadn’t moved.

Then two.

Then three.

“What the fuck,” I muttered under my breath. Were they waiting for something? I remembered the glowing man from out in the forest. Were they expecting reinforcements? I couldn’t see anybody coming out of the forest, so it would still be pointless to wait. They could just keep ravaging the town until reinforcements were in position to actually do something. What was their plan?

Nothing about the way these creatures were acting made sense. They had stopped their frenzied attack and were now moving with unity, like someone was commanding them. At this point, that much was clear, but I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that commander’s goal was, nor where they were. Was this an intimidation tactic?

I was about to give orders for the guards to launch a volley of arrows on them when another one of the creatures’ weird habits came up. Like they were reading my mind. The second I decided to give the order to fire, but before I even opened my mouth to do so, they finally made their move. Just like back in the forest. As soon as I decided on one course of action, they made their move.

In unison, the creatures all let out an ear-splitting cacophony of screeches. Each one was slightly different, so it didn’t even meld into a battle cry. It was just a mess of sounds all stacked on top of each other. A few guards panicked and shot. Most missed, but one dropped one of the creatures out of the sky.

Before it’s body hit the ground, the rest started to move, but not toward the fort.

Their cries went silent, leaving a void in their place. They all dove down into the streets and fled. I could just barely make out the shadows zipping through the streets or briefly darting over the roofs. As they emerged from the buildings on the edge of town, they flew out over the forest and started to hover there, just like they had been doing a moment ago. They were still just waiting.

It wasn’t over, but this was still good for us. At the very least, their distance meant that they weren’t an immediate threat anymore. I couldn’t say it made me feel better, but I at least got a moment to breathe.

“We need to get this meeting over with,” I said over to Sterthen and Betheren, nodding for him to take the lead again. “There’s no telling how long they’re going to stay that way. The sooner we get the Sun Lord’s blessing, the sooner we can start getting ready for when they do move.”

“Yeah. You’re right,” Betheren said lamely, not taking his eyes off of the swarm in the distance. Even as he started walking, he refused to look away. He only broke his gaze as we made it to the door leading into the command hall. “You two should wait here for a moment. I’ll go let him know you’re here.”

Betheren opened the door and peeked his head in. “Sun Lord-“

“What are you doing out there?! Hurry up and bring the deserters in here,” Guinang bellowed from inside. That was permission. I grabbed the door from Betheren’s hand and swung it open.

At the center of the room, there was a large wooden table. It was made of twisted roots, curling up out of the floor with a canopy filled with little dangling lights, just like the Sun Tree outside. The table was familiar, although I had never seen this one specifically. We had one just like it in the Imperial Palace, only larger.

Sitting slouched at the table across from the doorway was Sun Lord Guinang. There were two people sitting beside him. The first was Belar, the commander of the city guard. He was the only guard I knew by name, partially because he was the highest-ranking member of the guard, but more importantly because he was who Guinang assigned to us when we first arrived in Anghelen. In that time, we had actually gotten to know each other fairly well. He still kept his distance from us, given his position, but he was never outright malicious like some of the other guards were. He even looked a little glad to see us there.

The other man was one I didn’t recognize. He was wearing incredibly nice leather armor, although it wasn’t the uniform for the city guard. His sneer made it clear that he wasn’t going to be glad about our presence though.

“Spit it out quickly,” Guinang commanded. “The message Betheren sent says that you saved his life. I’m grateful, but my gratitude can only go so far. That’s the only reason I’ve even allowed you to even show yourselves in my presence. Speak quickly so that I no longer have to bear looking at you.”

That’s about what I expected.

“We have come to share information regarding the assailants and to offer our assistance-” I started to explain, but was cut off by a snort from Guinang.

“Is there a problem, Our Light,” I asked through grit teeth, trying my best to emulate the proper etiquette. Procedure was important in the Capitol and I had never questioned it, especially when speaking with Family members. The words came back naturally to me. I never had any problems with polite speech when I was speaking with my superiors, but having to put on that face for such a pitiful little man rubbed me the wrong way. If we hadn’t been excommunicated from the Empire, I would never have dreamed of treating him with this level of respect.

“You’ve got some nerve coming into a fort under the guiding light of the Family and speaking to a Sun Lord like that, deserter,” he said, clearly seeing my reluctance. “You had your chance to offer your service to the Empire and you threw it away. Besides, now that those monsters have retreated and given us a chance to breathe, you won’t be necessary. We will defend ourselves with the grace that the Family has gifted us. Give us what information you have and then get out of this sacred building.”

“The fight isn’t over. They’re waiting for something, then they’ll attack again,” I shouted, stepping forward and slamming my hands down on the table in front of me. The unknown man sitting next to Guinang stood with his hand on the pommel of the sword resting at his waist. He was trying to intimidate me, but I could tell just from his stance that he wouldn’t last a minute if he seriously came at me.

Another arrogant little man. I wasn’t intimidated. I only felt the rage flare up inside of me.

Then I felt Sterthen’s hand on my shoulder. His face was calm, but I could see the tension in his brow. Most people wouldn’t have noticed it, but he was just as angry about being spoken to like that. Still, he was better at composing himself in situations like this. Fine, I’d let him try. I might just make the situation worse at this point.

As I stepped back away from the table, the unknown man stood down. Guinang had a smug look on his face, like he was proud of scaring me off. I tasted blood as I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something else.

“Our Light, if you would like this to be a transactional relationship, then so be it,” Sterthen said with the same gentle face, but there was a slight edge to his voice that anyone who didn’t know him probably wouldn’t notice. “This fight isn’t over. Even though the flying creatures have retreated for the time being, there are more forces approaching. I believe they are waiting for their reinforcements before they will attack again. We encountered some of their forces in the forest and on a few conditions, we are willing to share our information about them.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Guinang bellowed at Sterthen, his face flushing. “This is the transaction. You are only here right now as a courtesy to lieutenant Betheren and the opportunity to share that information is your own reward. With your insolence, I’m tempted to throw you back out there and let you fend for yourself. Why should I listen to anything a deserter has to say?”

“Because if you don’t everyone here will die. Us included,” Sterthen said with a chilling seriousness that even sent a shiver down my spine. I had only seen him break his calm demeanor like this a handful of times, and it always shocked me how different he could become. From the way that Guinang balked, it had the same effect on him.

In a fight, Sterthen and I were each worth more than every other person in the fort combined. Even Guinang knew that, as much as he would hate to acknowledge it. Whatever was approaching, the two of us couldn’t handle it on our own. Sterthen’s fight with the glowing man had proven that much. And if we couldn’t, there was no way that Fort Heferal would be able to hold.

“Do you mean that,” Guinang asked, dropping his haughty attitude as he sat forward and steepled his fingers. I was relieved to see that even he could put his own ego aside for a second.

“I do. I don’t know the size of their force, but those flying creatures are far from our biggest concern. In the forest, we were assaulted by what I believe to be Helefiran Elves.”

That fully caught their attention. I had been referring to the creature he fought as the glowing man in my own mind, but only because I hadn’t wanted to accept the truth of what it was. The rational part of my brain knew that the Elves were real, but I had only ever really thought of them as a fairy tale. Even as he said it, I didn’t want to acknowledge that they might be real.

Guinang went silent, pressing his head into his fingers as he thought. “Do they live up to the stories,” he asked without looking up.

“If the one we fought was any indication, they make the tales seem like understatements.”

Guinang was silent for a moment longer before he sighed and lifted his head. “Take a seat and give us a full report.”

Finally. I stepped forward to take a seat, just relieved to be past all of that, but Sterthen held an arm in my way. “We will, but first our terms.”

Guinang swelled with rage and I was worried that it was going to turn into another pissing match, but instead he swallowed whatever he was going to say.

“What do you want?”

“First, we want you to let us help defend Fort Heferal.”

“I thought that was implied, but if you need me to say it out right then: Yes. You may fight to protect the citizens of the Empire.”

It seemed like a pointless request, but forcing him to agree to it meant that we hopefully wouldn’t have to deal with him throwing any more fits at our presence. Having seen the state of the fort we would need to take a key position in leading the defensive and having people question us at every turn might make the difference between victory and defeat. Plus, getting him to agree to that would make the next request easier to swallow.

“Second, our daughter is currently in the barracks with the other villagers. We want to guarantee that she will stay there, undisturbed, until all of this is over. Once it is safe outside, we’ll take her and return to our home.”

That one caught Guinang. He glared at Betheren behind us, who shirked away from his gaze. We had insisted that we drop her off before this meeting for this reason exactly. As much as he hated the two of us, it became clear that he held an even deeper resentment toward her. I felt a pang of guilt in knowing that we had condemned her to a life of being looked down on in that way, but there was nothing to do about it now.

“We’ll talk about the fact that you didn’t consult me first later, Brethren. For the time being, that is acceptable.”

I finally let my shoulders relax. His permission was the last thing we needed before Kene would be safe and secure. Now that that was decided, we could fully focus on mounting our defense.

“Third...” Sterthen continued, making me tense up again. We had only talked about the first two. What was he going to ask for? We were lucky enough to get him to accept Kene. Asking for anything else might make this whole thing blow up. I trusted him, but I couldn’t help but let the anxiety creep in.

“I would like your permission to reconnect with the Sun Tree…”

“What?!”

Both me and Guinang asked at the same time. What the fuck was he doing?

“Choose your next words carefully,” Guinang said, dragging out every word.

“We were excommunicated. Being in close proximity to the Sun Tree is causing us both an extreme level of discomfort. The fight to come will be difficult enough. Having the Sun Tree’s drone constantly in our ears will only make it more likely that Fort Heferal will fall,” he explained slowly and calmly, a perfect counterpart to Guinang’s slowly reddening face.

He wasn’t wrong about the drone being a problem, but this was going too far. As much as I hated the idea of fighting with it in our ears, we fought too hard to be free of the Family to just go back to them like this. We were lucky enough to just be excommunicated the first time around. They might see this as a rejection of their generosity and seek retribution. Why would he risk that?

I suddenly had the realization that his old instincts may have been weighing on him more than I thought. I had known from the beginning that he struggled more than I did when we were separated from the Family, but was it really this extreme?

“Then…” I said under my breath.

He looked back at me, but I could see it on his face. Him asking this was an act of desperation. He hated the fact that he was asking, but knew he had to anyway. The drone must be weighing on him more than I thought. From the way Guinang’s blush said he was about to burst, I knew I had to step in, even if I wanted to trust Sterthen.

“Sun Lord, might I ask what role the Family gave to you when they posted you here?”

He immediately defused as a look of boastful pride swept over his face. Was this what we looked like back in the day too?

“I am the defender of the people of Anghelen. I am to shepherd and protect them from harm no matter the cost.”

“I understand that what Sterthen has just said may feel like it is spitting in the eye of the Family, but he is not requesting it lightly. The fact that he has asked means that there is a serious chance that it will make all the difference between Fort Heferal holding or falling. If your mission is to defend the people of Anghelen, then allowing him to reconnect with the Sun Tree is a means to that end and nothing more. If it makes it easier for you to accept, I am affected less by the Sun Tree so I don’t feel the need to reconnect.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Is that what you told yourself as you stabbed the Empire in the back? That it was all for the good of the Family? I am not a traitor like you. Your excommunication was an act of the divine Family. I can’t just ignore their word when it is convenient for myself. I will hear no more of this, or I will see you and your offspring thrown out into the street.”

Sterthen stepped forward to try and argue, but I caught him by the arm. This was lost. He hung his head for a moment, but just as quickly his calm face returned, a mask to hide the pain. “I figured that one was a long shot. Then if you are willing to accept our first two conditions, we will share our information.”

“Very well. Please sit down.”

*** Sterthen ***

After that, the meeting went smoothly, at least in the sense that we all hid our hostility toward each other. As we discussed what resources were available, it became obvious that this was going to be a difficult fight.

Fort Heferal had been built over 300 years ago as a last bastion of hope against the Helefiran Elves. It was equipped with space and resources for the hundreds of soldiers that were stationed here at the height of the war. Fort Heferal dutifully held off attack after attack from the Elves, but the intensity and rate of their attacks slowly dwindled until they stopped completely. The Empire’s attention drifted southward to the Karnathem Alliance and as the years went on it became clear that the Elves wouldn’t be able to mount a serious offensive anymore, so they had slowly siphoned the resources being used on the western border to the south.

Now the garrison here was barely 50 soldiers strong and they were mostly villagers from Anghelen that volunteered to be the guard. They had the bare minimum of training. On top of that, only the facilities and tools needed for those 50 had been maintained. There was a fully stocked armory, but most of the weapons and armor were so degraded that they may as well have been completely useless.

Our first discussion was how to make due with that. It was quickly decided that we would use every able bodied person in the fort, even if they weren’t strictly part of the guard. The children, elderly, and injured would remain in the barracks where it was safe with a small group of attendees to care for the injured, but every one else would be drafted. Guinang sent a guard to go and relay that message to the villagers in the barracks. We heard back that there were a little over 100 villagers that could fight, so that would help pad out our numbers.

We sent another small group of guards to sort through the armory and distribute anything that would be useful. From the way they described the quality of the equipment on hand, it seemed doubtful that there would be enough weapons for everyone that was able to fight, so we dispatched another group of guards to gather anything useful from the homes and streets immediately surrounding the fort. Furniture that could be broken down for wood to make makeshift spears, heavy stones and debris that could be thrown from the walls, and things that could help barricade the doors to the barracks.

And finally, the battle plan itself. As far as we knew, there were the Elves and flying creatures to worry about. The first step was deciding how to deal with the flying creatures. Although they did a lot of damage to the town by striking when no one expected them, they weren’t particularly strong on their own. We decided that the majority of the trained guards would hold them off from on top of the walls. Bowmen would pick them off from a distance as they approached and then switch to spears as they got closer to the walls. What we primarily needed to worry about was making sure that they didn’t distract us so much that we got overrun by the Elves.

In a straight up fight I doubted any of the villagers, even the trained guards, would be able to stand up to the Elves. The one I had fought in the wood had a ferocity that couldn’t be matched. The only way I was able to beat it was through experience and training, and there was no way to get any guards that weren’t already able to fight at that level up to snuff in time.

The only people in Fort Heferal that could take them head on were me, Neph, Belar, and the other man who was in the room. Apparently, his name was Steng. He was Guinang’s personal bodyguard appointed by the Family. From his stunt trying to intimidate Neph earlier, I could tell that he wasn't quite at our level, but he was a competent fighter nonetheless. We initially suggested having him fight on the front lines with us to help deal with the Elves, but he staunchly refused. His job was to protect Guinang at all costs, so he would hold with him here in the command hall in case the rest of the fort fell.

With that in mind, it became clear that we wouldn’t be able to take the fight outside of the fort. The idea of trying to hold outside of the gates and then retreat inside as they got closer came up, but was quickly dismissed. We didn’t have nearly enough people that could hold their own down there. Instead, we’d let them up to the walls uncontested, then deal with them at a distance, taking advantage of the fact that their strongest force wouldn’t be able to easily scale the walls. The Elf I fought was ferocious, but gave no concern for his own safety, so if we had villagers posted up on the walls and lobbed debris down at them from the walls, we should be able to hold them off well enough.

The three of us - me, Neph, and Belar - would help hold off the flying creatures until the Elves fully reached the walls, then focus on directly responding to any attempts they made to actually breach them.

If the outer walls fell, the fight would practically be lost, so all of our attention had to go into making sure that didn’t happen.

We planned around what we knew, but that was so limited. We knew there were more Elves out there, but we didn’t know how many. We knew about the Elves and flying creatures, but what if they had something else we needed to worry about? Our plan of action had such a narrow scope, but that was only because we were so limited on resources. As the meeting wore on, it became clear just how bleak the situation was.

By the time the meeting finished half an hour later, my head felt like it was going to burst. Partially because out of worry, but mostly because of the damn Sun Tree.

I kept my calm face plastered on as we spoke, making sure to not give anyone anything else to worry about, but it didn’t stop my own anxiety from growing. I wouldn’t be able to hold on at this rate.

“We’ll go and start organizing the guard,” I said as the conversation came to a close, rising from the table. “Me and Neph will take up our positions on the wall to start organizing the troops up there and keep watch. At this point there’s no telling how long it will be until they make their move.”

“I’ll go and help finish distributing weapons and getting what we can up on top of the wall. As soon as you see them move, send the signal and we’ll get everyone inside and barricade the gate,” Brethren said, Belar said, standing to follow us.

“May the light shine kindly upon us,” Guinang said finally, also following us outside. He stood just outside the door on the wall, looking out at the horizon.

Neph and I quickly made our way as far away from him as possible. Even with the temporary truce, I hated every second we had to spend in his presence. We each did what we could to help organize the guard, but time started to drag on and soon enough there was nothing left to prepare. We just stood in silence and watched.

There was a tension in the air beyond the looming fight.

“Then…” Nephern said quietly from beside me.

“Yeah,” I responded, worried about what she was going to say. Talking before something like this always felt ominous. I was very aware of the possibility that one of us wouldn’t survive this, which made anything we said carry extra weight. If you give into the desire to say something you’d regret not saying if something did happen, it’s almost like you’re willing it to happen. It’s better to go in confident that you’ll come out the other side.

“I didn’t realize that the drone was wearing on you this much.” Good. No last minute confessions.

“Was I that obvious? I’ve got to work on my poker face. I was hoping you wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

She punched me. It didn’t hurt, it felt warm.

“Yeah, you do. If I was able to catch it, that means you’re really slipping.”

“What can I say? It’s been so long since we’ve had to take things seriously that I’m a little bit rusty. Living out in the middle of nowhere is peaceful, but I can’t say it’s done anything for my social graces.”

“Yeah, I never thought I’d see the day that I had to cover for you in a negotiation.”

“It’s a good thing you’re in peak form. I’ll try not to hold you back.”

“You better not, I’ll leave you behind.”

This was exactly what we needed. It always made me anxious when she worried about me. It was better that she kept her eyes forward and focused on herself than constantly looking back at me. We needed that trust. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her in tightly. She leaned her head on my shoulder.

We stood there in silence for a long time, staring out into the distance.

Then they began to move.

*** ??? ***

“It took you awhile.”

The man on the back of the winged creature said as he saw the woman flying up to meet him. She was riding a different creature than she had been when she left. He thought about asking what had happened to it, but it really didn’t matter. For now he just wanted to savor the moment that was finally upon them. He looked down over the flock beneath them, flitting nervously between the treetops outside of town. Farther below them, he could see the pale white light radiating from the forest floor. The horde of humanoid figures marching east.

They started this march with nearly twice what they had now, but this should still be enough.

“I don’t know what the fuck those things are,” the woman shouted frantically, pointing back west, ”but I never want to see another one as long as I live. We couldn’t even get close to them. All they had to do was look at us and we started dropping. I don’t know if it was a weapon or some kind of magic, but fuck that.”

“Are they going to be a problem?”

“Nah, they seemed to not care about us once we started leaving them alone. They also don’t seem like they’re allied with the Sun Eaters, so I don’t imagine they’ll come and stop us. The biggest group is pretty far from here, but I did notice a smaller group a little bit that way that might be close enough to get involved,” she said, pointing to the north. “I tried picking them off, but one of them really fucked us up. We’d probably be able to overwhelm them if we directed our whole force to attack, but it doesn’t seem worth it at this point. Seriously though, where the fuck did they come from?”

“Once this is all over, we can thoroughly investigate. They have proven to be quite the thorn in our side, so I don’t intend to leave them alone forever, but that can wait.”

The woman finally turned to survey the scene before her. The light of the Sun Tree glinting in her eye as she saw the destruction they had already caused. It filled her heart with joy, until she saw the silhouettes of the guard atop the walls. Her expression soured, but the grin never left. It twisted into something more sinister.

“You said you had a plan right? Why the fuck is the fort still standing?”

“Because, now that they feel like they’re safe, they’ve started to become lax, and we’ll take advantage of their arrogance. Those two First Gens, they had a child with them that they seemed very intent on protecting. While they were moving into town, there was no chance to make a move since they were fully on guard and we didn’t have the manpower. But now...” he said gesturing down to the horde below them.

The woman didn’t look convinced.

“The kids in the fort, right? How the fuck are we supposed to get to it now that they’re locked up all nice and tight?”

He calmly pointed his finger out toward the fort, at the lowest floor of the widest tower.

“For the most part, the living creatures in the fort are all spread out around the walls. There are a handful in the inner courtyard, but I can sense a large amount of life gathered right in there. They probably think they are safe there because there are no windows or doors, but we can make one ourselves.”

He waved his hand lazily, and the creatures below them started to swarm. Light flickered through the leaves as the Elves sprinted forward, breaking through the treeline at the edge of the town. The sound of flapping wings filled the air as the tree tops came to life. A dark cloud of the flying beasts filled the sky.

They all flew straight up, so high that they were practically invisible against the black of the sky, and then began to circle each other. With another flick of his hand, the circle broke. One of the creatures pointed down toward the fort, followed by the rest. A stream of black dots in the sky folded their wings and entered a nose dive, pointed straight at the tower the man had indicated. The plunged, tearing through the air faster and faster as they descended. They didn’t open their wings.

The first one impacted the stone wall with a meaty crunch, completely folding in on itself as it collided. On its own, it didn’t seem to do that much damage. The mortar between the stones began to crack slightly, and not much more, but the second one hit an instant later. An endless streamy of wet thumps as the creatures killed themselves against the stone wall.

After the first dozen, stones began to come loose from the wall. With the third, a massive crack had formed. By the fifth, the wall gave way, crumbling inward on itself and exposing the room inside. As soon as that opening had formed, the man flicked his wrist again, and all of the creatures still in the air opened their wings, catching themselves. A little over half of their number now lay broken in piles around the tower, but that was worth it. A handful of the remaining creatures glided into the opening and screams began to echo from inside. The rest of the creatures descended on the walls, assailing the guards on top of them.

The man trained his eye on the wall and picked out two shapes atop it, already moving toward the hole. The plan wasn’t quite ready yet. The creatures needed to buy more time. Another flick of his wrist, and every single winged shape moved to put themselves between the two figures and the hole. That alone probably wouldn’t be able to stop them at this point, but it only needed to slow them down.

They tore through the cloud, flashes of light bursting around them. As they made it three quarters of the way across the wall, almost to the edge of the wide tower, I felt it. We had done it. A stream of flying creatures flowed out of the hole in the wall, each carrying someone in whatever appendages it had available.

And at the front of the group, a creature was carrying a young girl.

“Leave the fort be. Our only priority are the two Sun Eaters about to leave it’s walls. Once they are dead, we can take it at our leisure,” he whispered, but his voice carried on the wind, echoing out over the town. The frantic movements of the glowing Elves froze as they all set their eyes on the sky and on the hole in the wall.

And sure enough, a moment later, two people jumped off of the wall, down into the streets, and the elves began to swarm.

The man was calm and collected as he watched his plan unfolding, just as he had hoped it would. At this rate, Anghelen would fall by sunrise.