Dragon War

Chapter 6

“Did they cite their reasoning for not joining the war?” the empress pressed.

“They’re worried that fighting Necrovar will mean their extinction,” said Keriya.

“I worry about the same thing.” Aldelphia produced a drawstring pouch out of nowhere and slipped the valestone into it. She pulled the strings tight and looped them over her head, wearing the pouch as a necklace.

“At least we have one more valestone to count on,” she said to the room at large. “The power in this one will keep Noryk safe for another six months. Perhaps by then, we’ll have persuaded our new neighbors to join our cause.”

The empress glided toward the curved wall. Between two of the floor-to-ceiling windows stood a marble plinth. A scroll of parchment hung suspended in midair above it.

This was the Allentrian Alliance Pact, co-authored by the elves, the dwarves, and Fletcher. Keriya’s return to Noryk had created an awkward situation—mostly because everyone thought she was dead, but partly because some people blamed her for Necrovar’s return. It had been made worse when Fletcher had presented the pact to the empress, informing her that her country was going to war.

During their first official war council, he’d asked for Aldelphia’s signature and full support. She had agreed . . . on the condition that the dragons join the alliance.

Aldelphia lifted the scroll from its hovering enchantment, unrolled the precious parchment, and scanned its contents. Blind or not, it seemed she could see its terms. Without warning, a flame sparked to life in the air before her. Fletcher made a strangled noise and leapt forward.

“Be still, Ambassador Earengale,” said Aldelphia. The flame approached the scroll but didn’t set the paper ablaze—it created a pattern on the bottom of the page. The empress manipulated the fire in flowing, spiraled movements.

“Your signed pact,” she said, offering him the scroll.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Fletcher said shakily. “But it will be safer if it stays here.”

“Keep it with you on the field. I’ve left room at the bottom for more signatures.” She glanced at Keriya, who wilted beneath her milky-white stare.

“On that note, what news have we from the Jidaelni fleet?” the empress continued, her scrutiny shifting to Viran.

“Thanks to Roxanne Fleuridae, who has been in contact with ocean animals, we’ve established communication with my people,” said Viran. “The fleet will make landfall within the week. We’ve told the Xamarai to head for the elven port in the Smarlands.”

The empress nodded. “General Alenciae, your report on preparations?”

“The elves have made ready the port city,” said Taeleia. Her snakelike scales glistened opal in the light—all except those on her right hand, which were dull and gray. She’d lost the use of her arm after being touched by a necromagical spell, and it now hung in a sling.

Empress Aldelphia tilted her head at the decorated guardsman next. “General Caelburn, what is the status of our army?”

Caelburn straightened. “The loyal Imperials remain the core of our fighting force: two full brigades with a total of fifty-one mages. A battalion of healer elves arrived last week. The dwarves are untrained in the arts of battle, but they’ve been working to provide upgrades to our armor and heavy artillery. We also have one brigade of Smarlindian state soldiers, one of soldiers who fled occupied territories, and a citizen’s militia.”

Viran frowned. “Does this militia have any training? If we put inexperienced men on a battlefield, they’ll be more of a liability than anything else.”

“We’re not in a position to reject willing fighters,” said Caelburn. “Especially seeing as you failed to win the dragons over to our cause.”

A warning growl rumbled in Valerion’s throat. Caelburn’s golden-brown eyes flickered to him.

“We do have Valerion Equilumos,” he conceded, offering the legendary hero a bow.

“And you have Keriya Soulstar,” Viran said in a tone that was harsher than prudent. “A light mage will be your greatest asset.”

“The light mage is as inexperienced as the citizens you dismissed,” Caelburn shot back. “And she’s not the only one. We’re sorely lacking in leadership. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have the training to lead twenty-thousand men.”

“Allentria has been isolated for ages.” The empress spoke, forestalling any argument Viran might have made—although he happened to agree with Caelburn. A lack of leadership would be as deadly as running headlong into a line of necrocrelai. “In that time we’ve been without international strife and we have forgotten the ways of war. What was long a blessing is now a curse.”

“Excuse me, Empress,” said Keriya. “Viran Kvlaudium is an expert strategist and a seasoned general.”

Viran’s stomach did an awkward flip, but he remained statuesque. He smoothed his features, pretending the sudden attention of everyone in the room hadn’t affected him.

Caelburn scoffed. “You’d put a foreigner in charge of all Allentrian troops?”

“I’ve seen him in action,” said Keriya. “He turned inexperienced wielders into deadly weapons. He took a ragtag troupe of pirates and turned them into an army.”

She was embellishing his accomplishments, but Viran couldn’t help the warmth that glowed in his heart. His father had never been pleased with anything he’d done and the High Xamarai had questioned his decisions. It was a nice change of pace to be appreciated.

“He’s here because he believes in our cause.” Keriya glanced at Viran. “I trust him.”

“But we don’t trust you,” Caelburn said bluntly. “Empress, if I may, this is blatant favoritism. I don’t mean to suggest ingratitude toward Jidaeln for coming to our aid, but they aren’t doing it out of the kindness of their hearts. Their contract was usurious at best, criminal at worst.”

Anger flashed up Viran’s throat to color his cheeks. Across the table, Keriya turned scarlet. The contract she’d negotiated to guarantee Jidaeln’s support had, admittedly, been less than optimal.

“Entrust leadership of Jidaelni troops to Master Kvlaudium, by all means,” said Caelburn. “But the title of Commander-General should go to an Allentrian.”

“If your army consisted only of Allentrians, that would be fair,” said Valerion, his wings stirring at his sides. “But it is not. Allentrians are fighting. Jidaelni are fighting. We are staking our lives on the hope that we can persuade the dragons to fight. You are resurrecting the World Alliance faction by faction. The position of Commander-General should go to the most experienced military leader.”

“Which would be Viran,” said Keriya, folding her arms.

“That’s a tall boast, one you’ll regret making if he can’t live up to it,” warned Caelburn, quiet and deadly serious.

“He’s the only one familiar with the Moorfainians,” said Keriya, “and they’ll be a big problem when they join Necrovar. Viran can lead us against them and teach our less experienced leadership.”

The empress turned to the assembled royals. “Kings Maxton and Effrax, Queen Sebaris, what say you to this proposal?”

Effrax flinched at the title of king but said, “I agree.”

“As do I,” said Sebaris.

“I have no complaints,” Maxton said in a neutral tone.

The empress nodded. “It is settled. Congratulations on your promotion, Commander-General Kvlaudium.”

The pressure in Viran’s chest spiked. He had won top rank in the Allentrian military.

The World Alliance military, he corrected himself. This battle would take place on Allentrian soil, but Jidaeln was just as invested in its outcome. So was every other country on Selaras—even if they were not yet aware of it.

“Now, to unite our forces,” said Aldelphia. “Generals, your recommendations?”

“If we meet the Jidaelni at Port Elvinthrane,” said Caelburn, who was visibly struggling with his composure after Viran’s promotion, “we can move south along the coast and enter the Fironem to launch a counter-assault.”

“Even with twenty-thousand troops, marching into Shadow-occupied territory would be suicide,” said Viran.

“Then what are we doing here?” Caelburn snapped. “Why bother with war councils if we’re fighting an un-winnable war?”

“If I believed it was un-winnable, General Caelburn, I wouldn’t have traveled five-thousand miles across the Waters of Chardon to lend support.” Viran’s voice grew exponentially colder as pressurized anger boiled in his chest. “But with the Severed Six in play, we must be innovative. These are the necrocrelai leaders who willingly exorcised their souls from their living bodies and pledged to Necrovar in exchange for unbelievable powers.”

Caelburn hooked an unimpressed brow. “We don’t need a history lesson, we need a plan. I suggest you get your winged friends to fly on our front lines” —he gestured through the windows to the Norythian Mountains in the hazy distance— “or you demonstrate some of your supposedly expert strategizing.”

Viran repressed a sharp retort, for Caelburn had an all-too-valid point. They’d been counting on the dragons. Now they would have to scramble to find a new strategy.

Or rather, Viran would have to find one. How could he dredge a victory out of this mire?

“Our priority should be uniting our forces,” he hedged. “The main problem is moving troops between Noryk and the Smarlindian coast.”

“I expect this is where having a light mage would come in handy,” said Caelburn. “Sir,” he added, with a hint of acerbity.

“Keriya cannot transport an entire regiment via teleportation.”

“I could try,” she offered quickly.

“You’d kill yourself from the exertion,” he said, refusing to look her way. If she captured him with those eyes, star-bright and guileless, he’d be at risk of losing his own tenuous composure.

“I’ve been practicing—”

“The energy needed to move that amount of troops across a thousand miles would be far greater than you could give.” Viran loved her spirit, but she had to know this was folly.

“Greater than the energy needed to summon the dragons from the Etherworld?” said Caelburn.

A heavy silence descended on the room. They had strayed into dangerous territory.

“That was different,” Viran began in a tightly controlled voice. Keriya had tapped into a dangerous power for that spell—and like the dragons themselves, that power could not be controlled.

“If she can transport two-hundred dragons across universes with Valaan-only-knows what sort of arcane magic, she can—”

“You’re both right,” said Valerion. “Teleportation is nonviable in this case. But General Caelburn is correct in thinking that we should use arcane magic.”

Viran frowned. “What are you suggesting?”

“There is a changemagic spell,” said Valerion. “It creates a portal between one place and another. It will be energy-intensive, but the cost would be a fraction of mass teleportation. Once it’s wielded, the troops can march from Port Elvinthrane to Noryk in a single step.”

Coming from anyone else, the idea would have been dismissed as lunacy, but Valerion could do no wrong in the Allentrians’ eyes. They idolized him, worshipped the ground he walked on. Caelburn nodded appreciatively and Empress Aldelphia’s expression sharpened.

“Are you capable of wielding such a spell?” she asked Keriya.

Keriya lifted her chin and set her jaw. “I must be.”

Viran’s innards, so recently burning with anger, turned to ice. Not I am. Not I will be.

I must be.

She was willing to sacrifice everything, but if they lost Keriya before the army engaged Necrovar, before Viran had the chance to—

“Empress, Keriya and I will discuss the spell logistics with your leave,” said Valerion, cutting short Viran’s inner musings.

“Granted. This meeting is adjourned. We’ll reconvene tomorrow for a progress report.”

Viran nodded. In the meantime, maybe he could brainstorm a better way to unite the Jidaelni and Allentrian troops.

People withdrew from the table, offering each other polite bows and impersonal murmurs.

“One last thing,” said Empress Aldelphia. “Keriya Soulstar, I’m granting you commanding power for the remainder of this war.”

Her words were met with the loudest silence Viran had ever heard.

“Why?” Keriya finally managed to choke out.

“Why, indeed?” echoed Caelburn. “She has a history of misconduct against our empire.”

“She is also our best hope for victory.” Aldelphia’s clouded eyes settled on Keriya’s purple ones. A current of energy crackled between the two women. “Why, Keriya? Because I pray there will come a time when we must turn to you for direction. When the dragons join the war, you will be their general.”