The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 02 - The Gathering (20 page)

“That is why
we have Newhawk,” Braon said, sweeping his hand towards his second in command.
“Almost everyone believes that Newhawk leads the defenses. Few know that much
of what he does is under my direction.”

“Brilliant
again,” Graden chuckled in wonder. “You lead the army, but everyone sees and
follows him.”

“Exactly,”
Braon agreed. “However, there are key people that I need to lead the defenses.
Five more generals to be exact, one for each of the battalions I am forming.”

“Wait,” the
prince said, sobering and raising a hand. “You want me to be one of your war
council?”

Braon nodded
and waited for the prince’s response. At first Graden didn’t answer, turning
around and looking out the window at his people entering the city. For several
moments the silence stretched between them as the prince considered the offer. Then
he sighed and turned around.

“As long as I
may choose the men directly under me, as well as send another to finish the
evacuation . . . then I accept.”

Braon sensed a
certain level of reluctance in the prince’s words, so he took a step forward.
“If you have any doubt,
General
, now is the time to voice it.”

The prince
laughed dryly. “Inside my head again, Braon, but I was not doubting you. I was
doubting whether we will survive.”

“As long as
people choose light over darkness, then we will stand a chance,” Braon said.
“Now let’s get started.” Turning to Newhawk he said, “Take General Graden to
the House of Runya. Get him up to date on everything and explain his Link. Then
assign him Kit and direct him to his Battalion on the Eastern Falls.”

Newhawk
accepted his orders with a nod, and Braon turned back to Graden. “Do not reveal
my role unless it is to someone you trust. To everyone else, Newhawk is in
command. As soon as you assume leadership of your battalion, begin forming your
structure according to Newhawk's instructions. You are free to change them, but
stay within the parameters of our overall strategy. If I need you, you will
know through your Link. Good luck, General.”

It was clear
the man didn’t fully understand Braon’s words, but he tilted his head and
followed Newhawk from the room. As soon as he was alone, Braon smiled to
himself. Two generals in two days had been more than he could have hoped for.
With the dwarves arriving from the north, and humans now flooding in from the
south, he could begin fleshing out the battalions. Construction on the
fortifications would increase and their timeline would move up. Granted the
work would be more, trying to organize hundreds of thousands of people into
their places, but it was necessary.

Turning on his
heel he opened the door and addressed Thacker. “Wake up Kit and let her know
that General Graden is coming. She knows what to do.”

Thacker nodded
and smiled. “You have taught her well.”

Braon
sidestepped the praise and added, “Then inform Onix to go to the eastern falls
and introduce himself to Graden. Have him explain the details of the
fortifications they are building so he can begin training his men accurately.”

As Thacker
passed on the mental orders, Braon turned to Rokei and asked, “Can you send someone
to inform the queen of our progress?”

Rokei nodded
and disappeared down the hall to find a messenger. Turning back to Thacker,
Braon saw that he’d already finished, so he said, “Tell Deiran to meet us.
Since we are already down here we might as well see firsthand how his training
regiment is working.”

Stepping back
into the room to wait, Braon went to the window and surveyed the great hall. Elven
light magic filled the enormous cavern enough that Braon was able to see the
expressions of the humans entering the city below him. Many seemed scared, and
spoke little as they were directed forward. He couldn’t blame them. He
remembered acutely what he’d felt when he saw the annihilation of Terros. Being
forced to evacuate had many similarities to being driven out by an army, and
either way it meant you were abandoning your home.

Because the
human kingdoms were the most populous of the races, their coming would be
unequivocally necessary. Nearly half of the entire manpower he hoped to gain
from the gathered nations would come from the race of man, and having a strong
human prince become one of his generals would be political as much as strategic.
It would help them believe—especially with Newhawk’s overall leadership.

Several
minutes later, General Deiran and his Link, Daq, arrived. Greeting them, Braon asked
for a brief tour of the training and a report of its progress. The general
responded readily and led him down and back into the cavernous space of the
First Great Hall. Braon smiled and nodded in response while half his mind
absorbed the general’s words. The other half paid attention to Deiran himself.

The strong elf
general appeared tired, but alert. In his shadow followed Daq stayed true to
his training and remained silent. The youth also appeared worn, but his eyes
sparkled with excitement and his eyes lit up every time his father looked at
him. By his changes in expression, Braon saw that they were silently speaking
to each other, and he was glad to see the results positive. Deiran also threw
glances at the boy and Braon got the sense that the General had developed a
soft spot for his Link. Satisfied with what he saw, he turned the bulk of his
attention to Deiran’s report.

The elf
general had been tasked with developing a training schedule for all the newcomers
and he’d been challenged with getting the army into shape. To accomplish the
difficult task, Deiran had taken each battalion east of Azertorn and brought
them to the First Great Hall to train. Based on the rotation, each command
would train every third day, giving them two days to work on the defenses of
their area. The western commands did the same thing, and used the Second Great
Hall positioned directly above them.

As Deiran
concluded his description Braon smiled. “You have done excellent work General,
especially to accommodate so many inexperienced men.”

“Almost all of
our people and the dwarves do not need the training, as they have been working
with their skills for many years. I recommend the dwarves be taken out of the
rotation so they can focus on the construction of the walls.”

“Do it,” Braon
agreed. “The only thing I would add is to make preparations to move each
battalion’s training to their perspective field of conflict. Soon we will have
too many to move and it will be easier if the practice is done with less waste
of time. I can't explain why now, but place all training areas adjacent to the
cliff.”

“Understood,
Commander,” Deiran replied, giving a curt nod before departing.

Braon saw
Daq’s small hand waving and he allowed a half smile that brightened the little
boy’s face.

“Daq says it
was good to see you again,” Thacker said after they had departed.

“Tell him it
was good to see him, too, and tell him he deserves praise for holding to his
training. I know it was hard for him not to speak.”

Thacker
laughed."You have no idea how hard it is for him to not talk.”

“I know,"
Braon sighed. "But the generals have to get comfortable using their Link,
so it is second nature during the battle. If the Links talk at all, it will slow
our communication down.”

A hand clasped
his shoulder, and he looked to find Thacker’s eyes. “My family will do our part
to help you with your burden, and for what it’s worth, we believe in you.”

Braon
swallowed the sudden knot of emotion and forced a smile of gratitude. The
fisherman’s words had hit home. He did feel a weight that could not be shared—or
shown. At every moment he had to be in control, commander in every way. A
single crack and people would lose faith in him. It was a price he could not
afford, even if the pressure caused physical pain.

Chapter
16: The Ocleon

Taryn frowned
as he looked out from their hiding place onto the southern end of Ryazan.
Crumbling in disrepair, the city was inhabited by orcs and gnomes, racial
enemies of the dwarves. As short as a dwarf, orcs were quick to anger and slow
of thought. Gray-skinned and thick of stature, they were a superstitious and
suspicious lot that tended to fight at the slightest provocation. Gnomes tended
to be more intelligent and less warlike. Spindly little beings, gnomes were
easily identified by the yellowish hue to their skin—or their greed. At some
point in the distant past the two races had formed an alliance that had endured
for centuries, an alliance based on the gnomes becoming akin to a ruling class.
For an inexplicable reason, the symbiotic relationship seemed to work for both
races.

“Why do we
have to do this again?” Trin whispered in exasperation.

“I told you,”
Siarra replied in irritation. “At most this will delay our journey a day, but
if we manage to convince the gnomes and orcs to join the gathering, then they
could bring over two hundred thousand to the battle.”

Trin growled under
his breath. “I still don’t like it. This city is enormous, and there is no
order to the layout. It looks like buildings were added at random and many are
certain to be structurally unsound.”

“Sounds like
fun,” Jack said, excitement coloring his tone.

“Perhaps to
you Jack," Mae said, "but this will not be easy.”

Siarra nodded
and said, “I know it will be hard, but we have to try. I can feel that their
joining our cause is vital to our success.”

Jack snorted.
“You’re going to play the Oracle card,
again
? You need to come up with
another argument.”

Siarra's
expression darkened but Liri cut her off before a dispute could start again.
“You have been at each other's throats for the entire two weeks since we left
the dwarves. Jack, why don't you help us figure out what to do.”

Jack frown
deepened, but he threw his hands up in defeat. “Fine, there is a secret
entrance in the southwest side that will bring us to within a mile of the
palace.”

All of them
looked at him in astonishment and growled in irritation. “What?”

“How do you
know that?” Trin asked with a shake of his head.

“I put it
there,” Jack replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Taryn stifled
a laugh and glanced over the top of the hill at the city. “We’d better move,” he
said. “There is a patrol of guards coming and it’s getting dark. If we are
lucky we can be in and out by dawn.”

As they began
leapfrogging through patches of trees to get around the city, Taryn heard
Siarra mutter under her breath. He caught the words "stupid thief,"
and he bit his lip to prevent a smile. Moving forward he knelt beside Jack as
he looked at the next stretch of bare ground, scanning for any sign of
movement.

“Do you annoy
her on purpose?” Taryn asked.

Jack flashed
him a grin. “Of course. Someone has to keep her humble. Besides, I think she
likes me.” He waggled his eyebrows and smirked, but Taryn got the impression
that there was a serious note to his words.

“You favor
her, don’t you,” Taryn whispered.

Jack flashed
an annoyed look at him. “Finally see that, do you? Took you long enough—but
then again you seem to be lacking the sight that notices when someone is
interested. Liri is a perfect example.”

Taryn, taken
aback by his comment, didn’t get a chance to reply as Jack bolted for the next
stand of trees. Taryn sprinted across the open ground and followed the thief
into protective darkness.

As soon as
they were hidden once again, Taryn asked, “What do you mean, Liri? We’re just
good friends.”

Jack laughed,
quiet and mocking. “Just pay attention to the way she looks at you, will you?”

Taryn’s mind
buzzed and he cast a look back at his longtime friend, who caught his glance
and smiled. He jerked his head forward so as to not give away his thoughts. Despite
his efforts to quell it, the idea that she might favor him back sent tremors of
heat through his body. He tried to remember conversations where she might have
alluded to it. Several comments she’d said over the past few months seemed
particularly noticeable now that he considered it—but he’d just thought they
were close.

Could it be
true?

Jack patted
him on the shoulder, his expression sympathetic. “Don’t worry, Taryn, you will
figure it out. Right now we have to get into Ryazan.” Pointing towards a
section of the tall wooden palisade that formed the outer wall he said, “The
entrance is right there.”

With an
effort, Taryn set his thoughts aside, resolving to think about Liri later. “How
does the entrance work?”

“The wall is
fifty feet or so, right?” Jack asked and Taryn nodded.

“Looks to be
that way."

“Halfway up is
a piece that swings inward and leads onto a roof inside. Do you see that
section of the wall that still has the bark on it right above the roving
patrol? Below it you will see that one of the logs has a little branch sticking
out of it. That’s the trigger. If it is lifted straight up and then moved right,
it will swing open.”

“Have you stolen
from
every
city?”

 “Not every
city, but all the big ones. You have to move around or they might start to know
who you are.”

“What did you
take from here?” Taryn asked.

“Which time?”

“Whichever
time you want to tell,” Taryn grinned.

“Last time, ,”
Jack said and leaned in, “I took the Ocleon.”

Siarra materialized
at their side and asked, “What did you say?”

Jack’s eyes
flicked back and forth between Taryn and Siarra until he said, “The Ocleon.”

Siarra threw
her hands into the air and hissed, “Why didn’t you share this before?”