"What is she doing now?" Reyan pestered the scientist.

Renat was holding the spyglass up and peering through it across the Beachy Plains. The two were joined by Zan on the high mound of the Imperial Army along with Okan, another half-dozen archers and Renat's ballista. The scientist had aimed his weapon very carefully before the Empress began her trek across the neutral ground. It was shielded by a cloth so it resembled a headquarters tent, but one pull of the lever would both release the canvas and the deadly bolt.

"She is still riding to meet Cafer," Renat answered "Just like the last four times you asked."

"Maybe you should give me the spyglass. I will be able to do a better job of seeing what is going on," the fairy tried to take a swipe at the long tube, but Renat side stepped to avoid him.

Zan could see the bubbling dispute. "Renat needs the spyglass to tell us when to act, and we need you to have both hands to open the portal at just the right second. Are you sure you can reach that far?" The Guardian motioned to the far mound where Cafer stood.

"I can do that with my eyes closed!" Reyan boasted.

"Please don't!" Zan and Renat begged together.

"Sheesh, you both are very touchy!" Reyan lifted into the air to get a better view. While he could not see in great detail, he watched Aurora as she crossed the chasm between the armies.

"Get down here in case we need you!" Zan called. Reyan reluctantly complied.

"Bossy human! Next war maybe you should consider going with the rest of your kind." he huffed. He shot a sidelong glance at Renat. "Both of you."

"She has reached Cafer!" Renat annouced. Everyone tensed.

"And?" Now Zan was the anxious one. He had wanted very much to go with her, but Aurora had refused.

Renat squinted as he looked in the glass. "And…they are talking. Cafer has not let her up the hill. And the prince isn't saying a word. Oh! She is going up the hill with Utku!"

The 'oh' was almost mistaken for a 'now' by the trigger-eager servant at the ballista's lever. Only a split-second pause prevented the catastrophe.

"The Empress and Cafer are still talking. The prince is still silent," the scientist continued to relay the happenings.

"Hm, there is no way that is Alaron," Zan said definitively. "The boy is many things, but quiet is not one of them."

"Whatever Her Majesty just said has angered Cafer. Oh! Oh…" Renat had no idea how close to another misfire he had come. "Cafer didn't take the bait. I thought he might strike her but he is…clapping."

"That gnome is too crafty…" Zan clenched his fist.

"What now?" Reyan's muscles tensed.

"Wait for the signal." Zan reminded him, his own body preparing for action.

"Aurora has the Semblance Stone. The prince is a really a gnome! Utku has put up his shield. Get ready!" Renat's voice was animated as he relayed the events

The archers raised their bows. The Guardian crouched slightly. Reyan's fingers twitched.

Renat saw the Semblance Stone lifted over the Empress's head. "Now!" he yelled.

In sequence, Reyan opened a portal. Seeing the far hill and the back of Aurora through the portal, Zan grabbed the Empress by the waist and pulled her backwards into the safety of the Imperial Army's camp. Utku trotted through the hole, nearly running unto Reyan. The fairy and unicorn cleared just in time for a hail of arrows to fly toward Cafer and Grisley. Simultaneously, the ballista bolt was released in an arc across the sky. The portal closed before any of the New Emperor's Army could retaliate.

Having the wind knocked out of her, Aurora gasped and held up the Semblance Stone. "Alaron's not here," she paused. "Tell them to blow the horn!"

-----------------------

Cafer watched the portal open and his enemy disappear from sight. "Get down!" he yelled to Grisley. They ducked as the arrows made their horrific whiz above their heads. They landed far behind the hill in the ground and in the bodies of a couple of unsuspecting gnomes. The king realized too late that the flurry of arrows had been a diversion from the real danger.

From above the bolt came down on the like a fallen tree. Both Cafer and Grisley made a lunge to get away from the speeding metal arrowhead, but the flat-nosed gnome judged the angle incorrectly. Instead of getting clear, he moved straight into the missile's path. It plunged into his chest and burst through the other side before finding its final home in the soft, sandy earth. Like a grotesque scarecrow, Grisley stood on the hill as a warning to any who would fight the Empress.

Cafer moved from the mound in time to hear the magical horn blast fill the air. Where once was no-man's-land, now portals dotted the Beachy Plains as elves surged forward.

They leapt into the gnomes' disorganized ranks and drew their swords. Like one of Renat's well-oiled inventions, the elves moved smoothly as one to tear apart the enemy.

"Don't just stand there!" Cafer screamed. "Attack!"

At first the gnomes tried using their ground magic to encase the enemy. Some of the elves where momentarily buried in the sandy shore, but as there was air between the loose packed grains, the elves were able to escape quickly and advance. Cafer cursed at the enemy.

Just then a leprechaun appeared on his shoulder. The gnome tried not to be repulsed by the nearness of the red, devilish face. "Get the reinforcements and tell your brothers to get to work," the king ordered. The leprechaun held out his hand. "No!" Cafer yelled. "I have paid you enough. You will get no more until you all complete your tasks." The leprechaun blew out his cheeks but disappeared to comply.

-------------------------

Hearing Aurora's call from the hill, Zoltan rallied the elves. "Fight well!"

Ithel raised the Horn of Sonority and blew with all his might. The sound rang through the whole land. In front of the elves, the fairies ripped open the space in order to portal the warriors across the battlefield instantly. The Elves ran into the gnomes like a hammer. Immediately some of the rocky creatures went down before they could draw their swords.

Although the elves knew better than to use up their magic, the gnomes had no such instructions. Their orders were merely to win at all costs, and that meant using all of their resources. Unfortunately the ground was not the hard rock where the gnomes usually made their home. The sandy loam was not a solid mass, and it was not tightly packed. But that did not stop the gnomes from igniting their eyes with magic and raising their hands to bury their enemy.

The first of the elves sank into the ground, trapped by the sand's crushing force. The victory was not for long. A whirlwind of sand formed as the elf used her wind magic to blow the sand from her body. Similarly, other elves who were dropped below the surface rose like whirling dervishes from the ground.

Discouraged, the gnomes drew their weapons to try their brute strength against the elves' agility. This too seemed to be mistake. Although they gnomes were able to get in a strike or two against their taller opponents, the fairies quickly aided the elves in their fight by portaling them to new positions when things got tough.

Prince Ithel was matched against a gnome the size of a large boulder, and the armor of the gnome seemed impenetrable. Stroke for stroke the two battled, in what might have been an endless fight-- had the sand not shifted below Ithel. The misstep allowed the gnome to rear back for the crushing blow. Ithel braced himself, but just in time, Bolemir flew overhead, making a portal below the prince's feet and placing him behind the gnome when he struck. The fairy then sent a sheet of ice below the rocky creature's feet, causing him to slip and Alvar, who had been running to the rescue, stabbed his sword deep into the gnome's neck where the helmet and armor left a small gap.

"Thanks for the help." Ithel got to his feet quickly and slapped his brother-in-law on the back and waved to the flying Bolemir.

"Team work," Alvar responded with a grin. "It is what these gnomes lack." He pulled his sword and readied for the next attack. They were both surprised when the gnomes began to move quickly away.

"Are they retreating? Already?" Prince Ithel asked with a furrowed brow.

"I doubt it," Zoltan answered as he joined them. The king's golden face was taut. He looked skyward and watched black dots fill the sky in a flying mass so thick that they threatened to block out the sun. "Wyverns!" he yelled.

"I thought Wyverns were scavengers!" Alvar exclaimed.

"I do not think they are here to scavenge," Ithel's face was pale. The large scaly creatures sent a shiver down his spine.

Bolemir lifted high into the air. "There are more!" he called down to those on the ground.

"More? More Wyverns?" Zoltan called anxiously.

Bolemir shook his head. "More problems..." The ground below them began to shake with each massive footstep.

"No..." Although the king had only heard the sound once, he knew before the word was even spoken.

The fairy pointed to the ground just beyond their view. "GIANTS!"