The Broken Council (The Guardian Chronicles 1) (23 page)

Kishi
did not want to leave anything to chance, so she thought that her actions would
work well with what Kana was planning to do.
 
The exhilaration she felt from using such powerful magic stayed with her
throughout their uncontested march to the secret base in the north lands.
 
Magic had never lingered for so long after
using it. She began to crave it even more with each passing moment.
 
She felt like she could single-handedly take
on the army of Yukio and the defenses of Queen Daria.
 
She was so wrapped up in the moment that she
did not recognize the warning signs of sacrificing other living things to use
their life force to bolster your own magic.
 
This was a slippery slope she would have normally known not to trifle
with.

***

After
marching for the space of three days, they reached the secret northern base and
were greeted by the knights who had made all of the necessary
preparations.
 
Farms had been set up to
provide a renewable food source, and the forests north of the base were full of
wild animals and fruits.
 
There was also
a well from which water could be drawn, and a river ran through a part of the
woodland nearest the base.
 
They could
survive indefinitely, if need be, off the land surrounding them.
 
There was a natural mote around the massive
fort, which required the knights to build a series of bridges that could be
retracted when needed.
 
The walls of the
natural barrier went down into the depths of the earth endlessly.
 
The breadth of the mote was equal to five
giants laying head to toe.

The
main bridge to the base had been made centuries ago and had a section in the
middle that could retract slightly, which left a ten-foot gap that made it
impossible for big equipment to move across.
 
The other bridges made by the knights were considerably less stable and
could only handle so much weight at a time.
 
There was existing living quarters which had been prepared for the
army’s habitation.
 
An ancient army must
have built this impregnable fortress during one of the north land wars.
 
Queen Kishi looked around appraisingly and
smiled slyly at her good friend, General Jaali.
 
She was very pleased with this outpost and knew that after only a day of
rest that she would be able to begin her attack.

“General
Jaali, have the troops find their rooms immediately so that they can get some
rest.
 
In the morning, we attack!” she
said savagely.

“Yes,
my queen,” he said, with a rueful smile at Kishi’s enthusiasm.
 
He could see that she was full of purpose and
that she actually cared for the troops and their well-being.
 
It gladdened his heart to see such devotion
in his best friend.
 
She had been lost
for so many years and had wasted a lot of time searching fruitlessly for
meaning in her life.
 
Now, she had found
what she was looking for.
 
It was rather
tragic that she found it after losing her sister.

“After
you have carried out my orders, please get some rest.
 
I am going to put up some of my own
protection around our new base.
 
There is
some innate magic already protecting this place, but it never hurts to put our
own layer of magical protection,” she said confidently.
 
“I will see you just before dawn.
 
We will attack as the sun rises, so make sure
the soldiers get plenty of sleep and that they have a substantial breakfast for
the long day ahead of them.”

“I
will.
 
I would also like to say that it
is good to see that you have found purpose in your life and that you care so
much for the welfare of others.
 
As your
friend, I will do what is necessary to keep you from harm.
 
As your general, I will keep you safe,” he
said with an appraising look at his oldest friend.

“Thank
you, Jaali.
 
I could ask for nothing more
and would expect nothing less from you.
 
Now, let us get on with our tasks so that we can get some good
rest.
 
Good night, my friend,” she said
warmly as she wrapped her arms around her massive friend.
 
They held one another for a few minutes and then
she kissed him lightly on his forehead before departing.

***

As
the sun crested over the edge of the canyon walls outside the castle of Queen
Daria, the home guard noticed an eerie glimmering along the northwestern
rim.
 
It was as if there was a long line
of metal objects standing along the rim of the canyon.
 
They had never seen anything like it before
and could not understand exactly what they were seeing.
 
Then they saw a dust ball heading toward them
at a great pace.
 
As they looked closer,
they could tell that it was one of the guards from the outer defenses.
 
As he neared them, a ball of fire came down
out of the cliff and instantly incinerated the poor soldier.
 
Then clouds began to form overhead, quickly
blocking out the sun.

The
shining objects along the cliff could no longer be seen as a huge dust storm
seemed to have risen out of nowhere and was heading directly for the queen
Daria’s castle.
 
Lightning began to
strike randomly all about them, and the loud echoing thunder ripped through the
canyons so violently that rocks began to fall to the canyon floors.
 
Commander Zareh Hacus came out of the front
gates at a dead run at the sudden disturbances.
 
He knew almost at once that they were under attack.
 
He had no idea who it was, but he could not
mistake the fact that they were being assailed by a powerful sorcerer.
 
He barked orders at the guards to alert the
rest of the home guard and to have everyone get to their stations at once.
 
He ran back into the castle to warn the queen
about what was taking place.

Before
the army of Queen Kishi reached the first real defenses of the canyon lands,
the guards had been alerted.
 
They were
stationed in cavities of the rock walls and began to shoot at will when the
army came into their line of sight.
 
The
battle for the Nairi Canyons had begun.
 
The Nairians entrenched themselves and would prove to be very difficult
to kill.
 
The high elves were not
detoured by the superior defenses.
 
They
had the most powerful sorceress in all of Tuwa on their side, and Mistress Kana
would be sending aid to them.
 
With a
queen as powerful as a guardian and a goddess who was more powerful than most
of the elementals, they could simply not lose the battle.

Lord
Dükker watched his former pupil leave with the army and felt a sense of immense
pride come over him.
 
He could clearly
teach the sorceress nothing more as she marched toward her destiny.
 
Now that she had gone, it was left to him to
protect Tiranidrol from invasion, recapture Alanderas, and to deal with the
giants.
 
Queen Kishi may not approve of
how he was going to accomplish these tasks, but she would be pleased with the
end result.
 
He felt that the experiences
that Kishi was going to have while fighting the people of Nairi would help her
understand his dark wisdom and cruel tactics.
 
There is no such thing as a nice
or polite war.
 
She will understand this
soon and will do what is required to capture those cursed canyon lands.

He
turned to face Commander Harley and saw the look of utter amazement on his
face.
 
It was clear that he had no idea
that Kishi was so powerful.
 
Even though
he had an astonished look on his face, Dükker could tell that he was feeling
even more confident about his task ahead of him.
 
It was unsettling to be standing under the
hot sun looking at Mount Quang engulfed in black rain clouds.
 
Loud echoing booms continued to rock the
neighboring mountain while flashes of lightning lit up the blackened sky.
 
Noises that accompany utter chaos were
carried on the wind from Alanderas to Mount Konane.
 
The residents of Tiranidrol cheered at the
apparent misery of General Yukio’s army.

“Commander
Harley, do you have your team selected for the retaking of Alanderas?” Dükker
asked.
 
He smiled at the look that the
commander gave him.
 
Apparently he had
not noticed Lord Aellenas standing there.

“My
lord,” Harley said with a bow.
 
“I did
not see you there.
 
I…I do have a group
selected to go with me.
 
When shall we
attack?”
 
It is unnerving how Dükker can appear out of nowhere.

“That
will not be for three more days.
 
In the
meantime, I want you to call another meeting of the captains.
 
We need to select someone who will lead the
home guard of Tiranidrol.
 
You will be in
charge of the guard at Alanderas, so we will need someone to take over in your
absence,” explained Aellenas.

“I
thought that you were in charge here; has that changed?” queried the
commander.
 
He was puzzled by what the
warlock was saying.
 
Is he leaving us?

“No,
I am not leaving you, Commander––not for good, that is.
 
I do have a couple of special missions of my
own to carry out.
 
I will explain what I
will be doing in our meeting.
 
Now, will
you go and call the captains together?
 
We need to get our plans firmed up so that we are all on the same
page.
 
Gather the captains and meet me in
the council chambers within the hour,” Dükker said sternly.
 
He had a dark, determined look on his face as
he finished speaking.
 
It was clear to
the commander that Lord Dükker meant business and that it was time to get on
with things.
 
Harley bowed quickly and
departed.
 
Lord Dükker smiled darkly as
he watched the good commander running as he did the warlock’s bidding.

He
turned around to watch the atmospheric assault on Alanderas and laughed softly.
 
You may
escape the mountain, dear Yukio, but you will not survive what Kishi has in
store for you and your army
!
 
He
continued to laugh louder as he thought of the destruction awaiting their
canyon neighbors.
 
His revelry was cut
short by the appearance of a mysterious creature that was walking resolutely
toward him.
 
Lord Dükker knew at once
that Kana had arrived to give him some further instructions before his meeting.

“Mistress
Kana…” Dükker said with only a slight bow.
 
“To what do I owe this distinct pleasure?”
 
He respected the powerful guardian, but he
was not afraid of her.
 
He knew that he
could hold his own against her in combat and that he could block her mental intrusions.
 
This gave him equal footing when dealing with
the temperamental guardian.

“What?
 
You cannot read my thoughts, Dükker?” she
said with great sarcasm.

“Let
us not play games, Kana; time is against us,” said Aellenas sharply.

“You
are right.
 
Time is something we are both
running out of.
 
That is precisely why I
am here,” she replied pointedly.
 
“You do
not have time to garner support from the other races, so I will do that for
you.”

“So,
who will you recruit to our noble cause?”

“I
will get the orcs and goblins to help us.
 
I will also obtain the support of the most deadly creatures in all of
Tuwa.
 
I will send a certain number of
orcs to assist Kishi in her assault on Nairi while the rest focus on the
dwarves and, more importantly, the elves.”

“What
of the giants?
 
What shall we do about
them?
 
Do you want me to track them all
down, or just the curious bunch near Mount Quang?”
 
I am
not at all surprised by her choice of allies.
 
Hopefully this decision does not come back to haunt us.

“Kill
the oafs nearest Alanderas after you extract any relevant information from
them.
 
The giants are so divided that
they will never unite let alone ally with any other race that might oppose
us.
 
Our concern will be the kingdoms of
men and dwarves.
 
I believe that the
latter will prove more difficult to deal with than the former.”

“After
I take care of the curious giants, what then?”

“After
you have dealt with the brutes, your good Commander Tenanden will have already
taken Alanderas back from Yukio without a single casualty.
 
At that point, I want you to build up a small
army from the home guards of Alanderas and Tiranidrol.
 
Supplement the ranks with the seed of your
spider, Razi.
 
Prepare for an attack on
the elves; as you move in from the north, the orcs will be attacking from the
south.”
 
She had a wicked look on her
face as she outlined her plans.
 
She had
been looking forward to this moment for a long time.

“Will
you send any of the beasts to help Queen Kishi?”

“I
have already sent her Rolon to be her steed.
 
He will aid her plenty in their battle with the armies of Nairi.”

“So,
the wolves will be one of our allies; that is excellent.
 
How will we communicate between the different
armies?”
 
He knew that having the most
infamous wolf aiding Kishi was more than he could possibly ask for, but if they
could not effectively relay messages to one another, they would be finished.

“The
ravens will carry the messages between the armies.
 
The bats will relay messages to me, and I
will use them to carry instructions to you.
 
They will also act as nighttime spies and saboteurs.
 
I will alter the bats to have poison so
potent that even the druids will not be able to heal an infected person.”

“I
have only one concern about the plan so far, and it has to do with our
non-bestial allies.
 
I do not believe
that orcs and goblins will be able to uproot the stubborn dwarves.
 
What do we do when that happens?”

“Do
not worry about that.
 
I have already
garnered the support of the powerful rock trolls.
 
They will supplement the armies of
goblins.
 
The orcs have grown powerful
over the years and are a much greater threat than anyone realizes.
 
I will be able to properly motivate them so
that they will be equal to the tasks ahead of them.
 
Their siege weapons and tactics are far
superior to anything that the elves, men, or dwarves have.
 
Even the dwarven strongholds will not be able
to stand against the might of the orcs.”

“Will
you fight alongside us?
 
I believe that
your presence periodically would bolster our armies’ courage and strengthen
their resolve.”
 
He wanted to find out
exactly how involved Kana was going to be.
 
He felt that if she did not openly participate in their cause that it
would be lost.
 
She could not keep her
intentions secret forever, and sharing them with those fighting for her would
inspire them to greater heights.

“Look
to the skies when you begin your siege of the Black Forest.
 
I will be there.
 
I will bring justice down upon the elves for
their prolonged piety and shortsighted ways.”
 
She smiled with great satisfaction as she said this.
 
She did not care one bit for the elves, and
she would make that clear in a major way when the time was right.

“Then
it is settled.
 
I will go and deal with
our dim-witted friends while you create an axis of allies for us.
 
Once everything is in place on our end, we
will prepare for our attack on the elves.
 
Send us a message when the orcs are ready.
 
We will attack simultaneously to catch them
off guard.”
 
Aellenas was looking forward
to using his powers openly for a change.
 
He would show the elves what using magic was all about.

Kana
nodded her agreement and vanished before his eyes.
 
Aellenas stood for a moment longer watching
the black clouds swarm the mountainside of Mount Quang.
 
He thought about what he had discussed with
the elemental and felt reassured about the course of action he was taking.
 
Her plan made sense and provided him with
several opportunities to use his power the way he had always wanted to.
 
After all, what good was it to have magic and
not use it?
 
Those who have the power
should use it to gain more and to control those who are weak.
 
That is the nature of the mystical force; it
controls those too weak to possess or embrace its true power.
 
He noticed that he had been standing in the
open square for much longer than he had intended when he saw Commander Tenanden
heading toward the council chambers with a company of captains.

He
snapped out of his revelry and started toward the council chambers to meet with
his leaders.
 
He could sense a measure of
anxiety from the captains as they approached the hall.
 
He would have to dispel their fear and give
them enough information so that they would do what was necessary.
 
He would need to explain how Kana was backing
them and how she was going to ally them with the orcs, rock trolls, and
goblins.
 
They would not be thrilled
about her choices, but when they understood the big picture, they would welcome
the support.

By
the time he reached the hall, the captains had already taken their seats, and
Commander Tenanden stood at the head of the table awaiting the arrival of Lord
Aellenas.
 
When he entered the room,
everyone stood up and bowed before their leader.
 
Once Dükker had taken his seat, everyone took
theirs and looked intently at the warlock.
 
They did not know what to expect, but they had a hopeful look in their
eyes.
 
They knew that he was stronger and
more powerful than Queen Kishi, so they were expecting great things from this
mystical high elf.

“Captains,
I thank you for coming together again so that we can firm up our plans.
 
I have met with Mistress Kana just now, and
we have come up with the following plan,” began Aellenas.
 
“Commander Tenanden will lead a special force
of soldiers in three days’ time to Alanderas to retake the city.
 
He will experience no resistance because
Yukio will empty the city and follow after our queen right before we attack the
capital.”

“How
do you know this, my lord?” asked one of the captains tentatively.

“I
have foreseen it,” he explained as he opened the same map he had shown the
commander previously.
 
This time the map
showed them all the kingdoms of men, dwarves, and elves.
 
It was clear from the movements on the map
that the races of men and dwarves were preparing for war.
 
The elves did not appear to be doing
anything.
 
Then one of the captains
noticed the giants at the foot of Mount Quang.