An Assassin's Respite

War Council Strategy Meeting

Kan had been training with his newfound powers for about two weeks, he had become used to using his powers promptly and with good control. They had also figured that they were out of Gaia’s sight in the sky due to them not being attacked.

“You’ve made great progress in such a short time,” Bahamut notes.

“Thank you,” Kan says with a bow.

“Thankfully, you were a skilled warrior in your village so we won’t have to spend too much time training you in combat. Instead, you’ll  have to incorporate your powers into what you already know.” Karma says.

“Do you think I can actually fight against dragons?” Kan asks.

“To be completely honest, I’m not sure. But it must be possible considering how Ra sounded so confident.” Bahamut replies.

“I see,” Kan says.

“Throw those doubts out of your mind, it’s not befitting of someone that is using my power. There is no need to worry about ifs, buts, cans, or can'ts. The only thing you should feel is pity for whoever must face you.” Kirin adds.

“That’s actually pretty sound advice coming from you.” Karma notes.

“What do you mean coming from me? I always give great advice.” Kirin barks.

“That’s enough you two,” Bahamut says in order to stop the argument before it begins.

“Kan, let us begin the second part of our training at once.” He says.

Kan nods and Bahamut, Kirin, and Karma help Kan train his powers in combat scenarios. They were only able to train for a couple of days before a certain event led to them cutting their training short. Kan was riding on Bahamut’s back as they made their way towards the hideout the people from his village were at. Once they arrived, they were shocked to see the camp destroyed. Kan hops off Bahamut's back and immediately begins to sift through the debris searching for survivors.

He had held out hope that everyone had escaped when he moved a tree branch and saw some bloodied clothing. His hopes were completely erased when he blew away the debris with wind and saw numerous bodies, both human and dragon. He searches for survivors but stops his search once he sees some familiar bodies. His eyes widen as he slowly approaches the lifeless bodies. He drops to his knees once beside them and tears begin to stream down his face. Before him lay the body of his mother. Bahamut, Kirin, and Karma let him grieve and searched the rest of the camp.

As he grieved, Kan had a tingle that danger was close. He quickly got to his feet, ready to end whoever was there but was shocked to see the tingle came from Kirin. Kirin stood over a dragon's body, the air vibrating around him. The body belonged to Raikin, Kirin’s brother. 

“I will not allow them to get away with this,” Kirin growls. His eyes glowing yellow and storm clouds forming above.

“Kirin, I am so sorry for your loss, but we must continue to search for survivors in order to figure out what happened here,” Bahamut says.

Kirin gives him a menacing glare, one filled with so much rage that Bahmaut thought that Kirin might attack him, but Karma flew in between the two. 

“This is not the time for us to fight amongst ourselves. Bahamut, you must give Kirin time to mourn for his loss. Kirin, despite his insensitive comment, figuring out what happened here is important as well.” Karma says.

The comment helped Kirin get out of his blind rage as his eyes slowly turned back to normal and he unflared his wings.

“We can give the dead proper burials once we confirm that there aren’t any enemies around,” Karma adds.

“Fine,” Kirin growls as he gives Bahamut one final glare.

After hearing what Karma had said, Kan wipes the tears from his face and begins to look for survivors. After a few minutes of searching, Kan stumbles upon a dragon that looked alive.

“Over here!” Kan shouts as he begins to move rubble and trees from the dragon's body.

Karma recognizes him as aeros, one of his followers.

“Aeros, can you hear me?” He asks.

The dragon moves slightly in response, confirming that he was alive.

“We need to get him looked at immediately if we want to know what happened here.” Bahamut points out.

As Karma lifts him with his wind, he reveals a small ditch. Inside there were multiple people hidden away.

“Aeros must have dug this and played dead over the opening to keep them safe.” Karma surmises.

“A commendable act,” Bahamut notes.

“Are you all okay?” Kan asks.

The relief from seeing them after what they must have just experienced had them in shock, but his question snapped a couple of them out of it.

“We’re fine albeit a little shaken and beat up.” A man answers.

“That’s good to hear. We’re going to get you out of there.”Kan says.

They cautiously get the people out of the hole while tending to Aeros. As Kan reaches for the last person, he sees that it’s his little sister. She was unconscious, but she looked okay. The sight of her helped alleviate the grief he felt earlier.

“What happened here?” Bahamut asks the man that had first spoken.

“We were attacked. A massive black dragon with purple eyes was asking where the three of you were and why all of you had come here and taken a human.” He answers.

“He must have had Gaia keep a constant eye on us. Does this mean that he’s onto us?” Bahamut questions.

“I don’t think so. He doesn’t know why we came here and took Kan.” Karma replies.

“He might be able to figure something out if he’s able to see us now,” Bahamut notes.

“So what should we do?” Kirin asks.

“Amaraz is probably going to get more aggressive with his attacks. We have to quickly finish our training so that we can face him and put an end to this needless slaughter.” Bahamut says.

“What should we do with them, we can’t just leave them here,” Kan says.

“We can take them back to my castle in the clouds,” Karma suggests.

“If you’re okay with that then that’s what we will do,” Bahamut says.

They gather everyone and leave for Karma’s castle, rising vertically so that Gaia wouldn’t be able to tell what direction they left in. They arrive at the palace and Karma rearranges it to accommodate the newcomers and Kan places his sister in his room before heading towards Karma’s throne room.

“I know you said that we should finish my training, but what is our timetable for it?” Kan asks.

“Honestly, I don’t think that we can even finish your training. It will probably be necessary for us to only train for another day or two before we begin our counterattack.” Bahamut answers.

“So the situation has become that desperate,” Karma says.

“Unfortunately so.” Bahamut groans.

“Are you telling me I have to wait here and let Amaraz live even longer after what he did?!” Kirin growls.

“We cannot rush things. If we mess up, it’s all over.” Bahamut retorts.

“Then what am I supposed to do with all of this rage!” Kirin shouts as his wings flare out.

“Anger is a powerful emotion but a dangerous one. Let it build and unleash it when the time is right. Just like I have been doing since my father’s death.” Kan replies while looking at his fist.

Kirin pulls his wing back in and lets out a low growl. He wasn’t sure how to feel about a human giving him such solid advice and being able to calm him down.

“If we’re going to have to cut my training short, then we should really give it our all. No more baby steps.” Kan says.

The three dragons nod in agreement as they begin to prepare for the final battle. Aeros had gone to gather the leaders of the army to defend humans after he recovered from his wounds. After about 4 days, everyone was gathered at Karma’s palace which was now completely filled with humans and dragons alike. The important figures were gathered in Karma’s throne room, eager to hear their plan for a counterattack.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s get started. Athena, what information have you gathered about the enemy?” Bahamut starts.

“They appeared to be moving at random in the beginning, but ever since they acquired the aid of Gaia, their attacks have become more coordinated and precise. Because of this, it has become nearly impossible for anyone to survive an attack from their forces. But even with their attacks becoming more coordinated, they still act on their own whims and at times even fight amongst themselves.” Athena states.

“So Amaraz is the only leader they have and when he isn’t around they act however they wish.” Bahamut surmises.

“If we could create a chokehold on their communications, then we can easily out strategize them,” Athena says.

“So we should go straight for the king,” Kirin says with a sly grin.

“For once, I agree with you. If Amaraz is too busy battling with you, then his forces will be like headless chickens.” Athena says.

“It’s all good that we’ve found a weakness of theirs, but how exactly are we going to get them to Amaraz?” Aphrodite, the dragon of purity asks.

“A distraction of course. We’ll send a small force to attack head-on as an obvious decoy and then two forces attack from the left and right as well as one coming from behind. Kirin, Bahamut, and Karma will lie in wait with Kan until the battles unfold in their full intensity and will drop in from above.” Athena explains.

“They’ll be too busy dealing with the numerous attacks to properly respond to another one,” Karma says.

“But they have Gaia to aid them, any attack we launch will be obvious whether it be from the air or ground,” Bahamut notes.

“Yes, but I have stumbled upon something quite interesting,” Athena says.

“And what’s that?” Kirin asks.

“Origin dragons are not allowed to take sides but can offer aid. But there must be a limit to how much help they can provide. After studying Amaraz’s attack patterns, I have found that their attacks are only coordinated once every four days. If I were to guess, Gaia only provides information once every four days and even then the information she provides is most likely limited itself.” Athena theorizes.

“Are you certain?” Bahamut asks, excited about the prospect of launching a possible sneak attack.

“Quite so, but if you are still unconvinced, think of it this way. If Amaraz knew the location of everyone on Earth at all times, how are we even still in this war to begin with?” Athena questions.

“That is a very good point. If they had the location of all our camps and safe houses, then they should have wiped us out within a couple of weeks.” Kratos states.

Kratos was a scared dark red dragon that was known for constantly battling other powerful dragons. He had joined Bahamut’s side as he respected his strength and chivalry in battle.

“Assuming this is true, Amaraz is no fool. I’m sure he will be looking for us three the entire time.” Bahamut points out.

“We’ll all attack from the air with only the frontal attack having ground dragons. Even if he is waiting for the three of you, there is no way he will be able to know where you’re going to come from or when.” Athena points out.

“The ground dragons attacking from the front will draw their attention there too.” Nepudon, dragon of the sea surmises.

“Yes, and it will sow doubt into Amaraz’s mind. Do we want him to focus on our frontal assault or is it a trick so that he will ignore it and give Kirin, Bahamut, Karma, and Kan an easy way to him?” Athena explains.

“An aerial assault would be ideal for us. I could use my wind to make us silent as well as make our free fall significantly faster.” Karma adds.

“Indeed. We’ll also have Aeolus fill the sky with storm clouds to cover your approach as well as our own.” Athena explains.

“Mhmm,” Aeolus mumbles with a nod.

“Should we really rely on such an assumption to launch a successful surprise attack?” Kan questions.

“Information is essential in winning wars and Amaraz has the upper hand in that, but risks are what allow for a lack of information to be overcome,” Athena explains.

Although he was still unsure, he decided to trust Athena’s judgment.

“Listen, everyone, the key to our assault is speed and sticking to the plan. Our initial assault will create chaos, but Amaraz’s guidance will quickly bring them to order. We must have Kirin, Karma, Bahamut, and Kan in position before then.” Athena notes.

Everyone nods, understanding the key to victory.

“This is our only chance. So fight with everything you have. Fight for yourself. Fight for those that you care for. Fight for our future.” Athena says as parting words of encouragement.

An uproarious cheer shook the room as they departed in order to prepare for the final battle.