The Fallen Guardian (The Guardian Chronicles 2) (4 page)

Immediately
the wraiths dove in and out of the burning wood that was Keb. He shrieked
because of the pain and the horror that was building in him. He did not know
how much longer he could take this form of torture. He again focused his energy
on protecting the secrets that the guardian had given to him. He would not fail
his leader by giving in to this vile apparition that was once a fair goddess.

Kana
began to rise slowly from the orgy of wraiths and turned her head toward the
exit. She knew that she had probably wasted her time with Keb, but now she knew
that he did not know anything. He would also be unable to interfere with her
plans, so now she was free to go and help her armies. She would lead them to
decisive victories over men, dwarves, and elves. After she had eliminated the
unworthy creatures, she would deal with the stupid giants. She did not know yet
why they had joined the fray, and she would regret underestimating their
importance. She was also gravely mistaken to not realize that the other
guardians were about once again in the land of Tuwa. They would get involved at
some point, and this would force her to stand and fight or she would have to
leave those she had rallied to her cause. She would have to go into hiding for
a long time if her plans failed.

King
Edric Nognili sat quietly upon his gem-encrusted throne pondering the messages
he had received from his scouts. He did not know if it was a wise decision to
side with General Yukio and the people of Nairi so quickly. He had also
received information that an innumerable goblin army had combined with rock
trolls and were laying siege to Mount Carrick in the south. There seemed to be
war all around him, but he did not know if it would be prudent to get involved.
His first obligation was to his people, and they had become very prosperous
over the years under his rule because he did not involve them in other nations’
affairs. His beautiful crown glinted from the sunlight that was allowed in
through a class dome at the top of the throne room. There were gems of all
colors encased in silver and gold in the king’s circlet. At the very front of
it was a depiction of his mountain fortress situated on the north slope of
Mount Ennis. The mountain itself was an island in the middle of a vast lake
that had unknown depths and dangers in it. The king felt safe behind this
watery deterrent and did not think it was beneficial to venture out of his
stronghold to help others. Many would die in the effort, and his kingdom’s
defenses would be weakened.

“Fetch
General Chad,” ordered the king to one of his hidden guard. He knew that he
needed the advice of his faithful leader of his massive army. As the guard
left, he continued to ponder the options before him. After a few moments, a
stout dwarf entered the throne room with a gruff look on his face. He had long
red hair along with an even longer red beard. As he approached the king, he
bowed to one knee and waited for the command to rise.

“You
may stand, my old friend,” ordered the king warmly.

“What
may I do for you, my lord?” asked General Chad.  He did not like to waste time
and knew that the king admired him for his direct approach. What he did not
understand was why the king needed to counsel with him when he was busy shoring
up the defenses against a possible attack.

“I
find myself in a difficult situation, my good friend. I have learned that King
Jarvis is under attack and that the battle for Nairi is growing in intensity. I
have made a pack with Queen Daria’s general to send aid to them when the need
arose; however, I do not want to weaken our defenses by sending valuable troops
to their deaths in a cause that is not ours.”

“I
can understand your hesitation with regards to the people of Nairi, but what
about dwarves at Mount Carrick?  Shouldn’t we at least dispatch some help for
our brethren?”

“I
sympathize with your sentiment about the plight of King Jarvis, but that is
exactly where my dilemma lies. If we send a detachment down there, we will be
left vulnerable. What if the high elves succeed in taking Nairi?  What would
stop them from attacking us next?  I cannot afford to lessen our ranks
needlessly when there is a very real threat to our island kingdom.”

“My
lord!” interjected a voice directly behind where the general was standing.

“What
is it?” bellowed King Edric. He did not like to be interrupted, especially with
the subject matter they were discussing.

“I
apologize for the interruption, my lord, but I have news from several of the
scouts,” replied the messenger bashfully.

“There
is no need to apologize; please tell us what they have learned,” the king said
with a more sincere tone this time.

“King
Jarvis is completely surrounded by a vast goblin and rock troll army, but he
has managed to fend them off thus far. We have just found out that the elves
are under attack by the high elves in the north while a massive orc army
approaches from the south. Even more troubling is the fact that there is
another orc army heading for Mount Adem as we speak. It appears that the
peoples of Landen and Aran have been left alone for the time being. This is our
report, my lord,” said the messenger with a very low bow.

“What
in the name of the gods is going on?  The whole land of Tuwa is engulfed in a
war that does not make any sense,” said the king in utter disbelief. “You may
leave us!”  The messenger stood up at once and departed.

He
was surprised by how his king took the news. He thought that there would have
been a call to action.

“General,
what do you make of this news?” the king asked while regaining his composure.

“I
think it is a clear sign that we are to send aid to our brethren in the south.
We need not worry ourselves about men or elves. They are good people, but they
cannot be trusted. For all we know, this whole series of confrontations is
their doing,” replied the general.

“I
agree with you that these tragic events that are unfolding are likely the doing
of men and elves, but I still do not see why we should weaken our defenses to
send aid to those who would not do the same if the roles were reversed. I
believe that we can hold this island if we retain all of our troops for our
defenses.”

“King
Edric, you and I have been friends for a long time. I know that you are
genuinely concerned for the welfare of our people, but entrenching ourselves
will not keep the armies of orcs, high elves, goblins, and rock trolls from
converging on us. They will leave us be until they have defeated the others and
attack us last because of our apparent complacency. They will crash on our
island fortress like the violent waves of the eastern sea. We will not be able
to fend off such a massive assault for long and will die just the same.”  He had
a strained look on his face as he pled with his king to see reason.

“I
simply do not share your appraisal of the situation. If we send out our army
now, their armies will attack us and we would be finished. I truly believe that
we would live longer if we stay out of these horrific affairs of middle Tuwa.
By staying isolated from the politics and bloodshed, their armies will leave us
alone.”  He truly felt that he was right and that over time his point would be
proven.

“I
think that we do agree on one point, and that is we have different ideas about
what the best course of action is. However, you are the king, and your wish is
my command. What is your final word?”

“General,
I order your soldiers to strengthen our island defenses. We will outlast this
war that has been brought upon our brethren by the folly of men and elves.”

“What
word would you send to King Jarvis and King Kasim?  What should we tell them
when they ask for help?”

“Well,
we have heard nothing from King Kasim yet, so we need to reply to King Jarvis
right now and then copy that reply in the way of a preemptive letter to King
Kasim.”

“What
exactly do you want to say to them?”

“Tell
them that we too have an army on our doorstep and that we will have to be
prepared for an attack. We will not be able to spare any of our troops because
of the need to be ready for the impending assault. Wish them luck, and let them
knows that we are still their brethren.”

“It
will be done according to your command. I take leave of you so that I can carry
out your orders. I will send the messages immediately and then prepare the
defenses for an attack.”

The
general saluted the king and did an about-face. The king watched him skulk away
as if he had been scolded for misbehavior. Edric knew that his friend would
understand in time that his plan of defense was the best possible course of
action. He really believed that his people would rally behind this decision. He
felt very strongly that public opinion would turn on him if he sent the army
into distant lands to die for a cause that was not altogether clear. The issue
that will be tricky would be the option to send supplies to aid those fighting
to defend their homes in the south. At first, the king thought he would send
supplies to the people of Nairi, but then he found out about Mount Carrick
being attacked. He then decided that if the war spread to other allies he would
have to send them aid as well. This generosity would cost his people in the
end. They would need all of the troops that he could muster and the supplies to
support the army while defending their homes. He simply did not see the benefit
of aiding others at the cost of his own peoples’ welfare.

The
general called an impromptu meeting of his commanders and captains. He wanted
to fill in the leadership about what the king had decided and his reasoning for
his choice to defend the island. General Chad had begun to devise a plan in his
mind while waiting for the leaders to show up to their secret meeting. He had
determined that the king was clouded in his judgment at the moment, which meant
that he needed to have a backup plan that could be put into action quickly. The
difficulty with this line of thinking was the fact that he would have to hide
what they were doing. The king could not get wind of what they were planning
because he would make them undo whatever they had decided to do. The general
sat on his balcony that overlooked the northern part of the lake, mulling over
possible scenarios in which he could successfully place his troops so that when
he finally convinced the king he was right, they would be able to spring into
action right away.

He
was so lost in his own thoughts he did not hear the approach of his captains
and commanders. None of them thought it was wise to disturb the general, so
they merely stood at attention awaiting his command. Several minutes passed
before General Chad came out of his introspection and took notice of his
military leaders. He stood up at once and welcomed the small group to the
meeting. He expressed his gratitude for showing up on such short notice and
assured them that what he had to say was more important than anything they may
have been working on. He asked them to follow him to his private office and
bade them to take a seat so that he could explain what had happened.

“As
some of you may know, there have been rumors of conflicts outside our borders.
I want to reassure you that we are not in harm’s way––yet. I will tell you that
we have confirmed that the new nation going by the name of high elves have
attacked the people of Nairi and the main body of elves. We have also found out
that the elven kingdom is under attack from the south by a massive army of
orcs. Even more disturbing is the fact that there is a large army of orcs
heading toward Mount Adem as we speak,” the general said meaningfully. “Our
greatest concern is that Mount Carrick is under siege by a combined army of
goblins and rock trolls.”

“When
do we head out?” asked one of the captains. The other captains and the
commanders nodded their agreement with this direct question. In their minds,
there was no debate about what they were supposed to do at this point. They
must go to the aid of their brethren at once.

“Ah…that
is the catch, isn’t it?” replied their general knowingly. “Our orders are to
shore up our defenses and to wait for an attack.”  There was an immediate
uproar of disapproval, and vulgarities spewed from the disbelieving dwarves surrounding
the general.

“That
makes absolutely no sense whatsoever!” barked one of the commanders in utter
disbelief.

“I
agree, but it is not our place to disagree with our king. We must do as he asks
or suffer the penalty. However, he did not say that we could not prepare
ourselves for a time when we would be called on to send forth our army in
support of our brethren,” explained the general slyly. Many of the leaders
caught on quickly and shook their heads in agreement.

They
spent the next hour planning exactly how they would be able to mobilize the
army within an hour. They felt that the home guard should be given the most
strategic positions because those were usually the ones that were difficult to
get out of in a hurry. They also determined that it was crucial that they did
not discuss their plans outside this room until the time for action was called
for. They did not want the soldiers or the guard to know about their plans. It
was not exactly treason, but the king may misconstrue their intentions and call
them traitors. The general made it clear that this was the best plan allowed
under the constraints put in place by King Edric. He also made it known that he
disagreed point blank with their ruler’s logic and his plan of defense.

After
the planning session, the captains and commanders jumped into action. Anyone
watching them would not have noticed anything suspicious about their movements,
and their troops did not question the change in the strategy. They figured that
this plan came from the king, and none of them dared to disagree with him. They
all respected his wisdom and his concern for the welfare of the people.
However, they also knew that his logic was sometimes flawed or marred by
external forces. Despite his weakness, he was still the best ruler they had had
in the past few hundred years. They had prospered greatly under his peaceful
reign, and that, more than anything else, was the reason they kept their plan
secret. They did not want him to know that they were questioning his orders. By
being extremely prepared, their king would not know that his orders had been
altered.