Omnixius
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DKP 8-32 Will she survive?
🕑 Added 2022-10-21 16:48:09 +0000 UTCGersius stood on a hillock looking at the dark mountains that lined the north. The sky above was gray, with storm clouds casting a somber pall over the landscape. His mind was a storm of conflicted emotions as he struggled to understand Lilly's recent encounter. Once again, Lilly had taken a terrible risk to try and avoid bloodshed, and knowing it chilled his soul. He couldn't fathom how he would go on had she been killed, but one thing was certain. The bloodshed would have been catastrophic as he poured all his anger and rage into a campaign of revenge.
A soft hand curled about his neck as Thayle joined his side. She leaned into him while also looking to the north, wondering where the Doan were.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Thayle asked as she used the contact to see his thoughts.
“You know how I feel,” Gersius replied. “And you know better than anyone else why I feel that way.”
Thayle nodded and took a deep breath as she thought back to a private moment they had shared weeks ago. He was having the same dream at least once a week where he would be holding the hand of a blue-haired little girl. They were in the valley as he pointed to a star low in the sky and told the girl it was her mother. He never understood why he said those things, but he began to have suspicions. Several times now, he had searched the sky for the star, and it wasn't there. He began to worry that the dream was prophetic and that it meant Lilly would not be there to raise her daughter.
“You don’t know that,” Thayle said.
“No, I don’t,” Gersius agreed but began to tremble anyway. “I even had a new version of the dream after you laid your egg.”
“You did?” Thayle asked with interest.
Gersius nodded and described the three children, including the red-haired baby in Sarah's arms. He began to shed tears at the site but pointed out the star was still in the sky, and Lilly was nowhere to be seen.
“I am not in your dreameither,” Thayle pointed out, but it did little to ease his discomfort.
“Lilly is recklessly trying to avoid conflict,” Gersius said as if he hadn’t heard her. “She is taking risks that make me worry for her safety. I can’t believe she took her human form while alone with four of her sworn enemies and then let them lead her away.”
“Alright, stop for a moment and listen,” Thayle insisted as she moved to stand before him. “Despite being a dragon, Lilly is a gentle soul who loves life and family more than gold. She has no heart for this conflict beyond the role it plays in delaying the home she wants to build. Lilly would do anything to end this conflict without having to kill thousands more. But never forget she is a dragon and the champion of Balisha. She is protected and guided by the divine.”
“She is lucky,” Gersius replied and locked Thayle with a stern gaze. “And luck always runs out.”
“I seem to recall a man who walked alone across a field to face tens of thousands,” Thayle countered. “Was he counting on luck when the divines protected him from certain death and displayed their support?”
Gersius stumbled on that thought as Thayle reminded him of the incident. It was true he had taken a terrible risk to avoid bloodshed, but that was for good reasons.
“Yes, because you wanted to avoid that bloodshed at all costs,” Thayle insisted. “This land and its people are dear to your heart. When they were assembled against you under a lie, you were willing to risk everything to save them. I hate to say it, but Lilly is exactly the same. She has learned how to be brave and noble from you and will risk anything to save people.”
Gersius looked back to the stormy mountains and had to nod as Thayle came to his chest. He couldn't deny the truth of her words, but neither could he deny the fear in his heart. The dream still haunted him, and Thayle had been the only one he dared confide in. She thought he should tell Sarah, but with the recent trouble over Rose, Gersius felt it better to wait. Sarah had enough on her mind as it was, and adding the fear of losing Lilly would only make her worse.
“Have you ever considered what would happen if Lilly did die and Sarah found out you suspected it was being prophesied?” Thayle asked as she read his mind.
“I do not even want to think about it,” Gersius replied as the thought sent chills down his spine.
“My husband,” Thayle began as she rubbed at his neck again. “I wish there was some way I could take this torment away from you. I know this is why you are stealing moments to be with Lilly at your temple. You are afraid of losing her.”
“You knew about those?” Gersius asked.
“Oh, you poor misguided man,” Thayle laughed. “Lilly can't keep her joy of being with you a secret. Not to mention I nearly walked in on you two the other day.”
“I do not mean to upset you,” Gersius insisted as Thale shook her head. “You don't have to be sorry for loving your wife. I had a suspicion these secret encounters were for a reason, and now I know why. You are afraid you are going to lose her.”
“Do you not worry about Lilly?” he asked. “Especially considering her recent actions.”
“I have to admit Lilly has gotten more serious about trying to talk to the Doan recently,” Thayle agreed. “And yes, I do worry about her because she is still naive about human ways. I don't think Lily understands that some people will simply not listen to reason. I also think this recent increase in her desire to find a peaceful solution has everything to do with Rose. Lilly is afraid Rose is going to be killed in some future battle by us. I have to say, just thinking about the pain that will cause Sarah makes me terrified. Especially after Sarah promised to let Rose kill her rather than be her enemy.”
“That took me by surprise as well,” Gersius admitted as he realized that Sarah was also taking terrible risks. Both dragons had become so focused on love and family that they were losing heart for the conflict.
“Sarah understands the need to keep fighting,” Thayle reassured. “She made that deal as a means to force Rose to face her inner conflict.”
“It was the same kind of reckless action that Lilly took. She risked her life trying to force an outcome she had no idea would happen,” he said before hugging Thayle tight. “What am I going to do? I can not lose any of you. I need you all.”
“You won't lose us,” Thayle promised. “Just hold the second dream in your heart and remember there are three children. If this is prophecy, then she will be at your side holding your child in the future.”
“But you and Lilly?” he began.
“Are probably in bed together kissing,” Thayle interrupted. “Or did you forget that is Lilly’s favorite thing to do?”
“I have not forgotten,” he replied with a slight smile and looked back to the gray mountains. “I have also not forgotten that we have yet to speak with Gams.”
“I wondered what happened about that?” Thayle said. “You were so upset that he was coming to meet you, then you ordered us to march north before he got here.”
“The situation forced my hand,” Gersius said. “I could not risk the missing army surfacing in the north while I waited for Gams. I left a group behind to meet with him, but a second messenger arrived with another letter. The Doan are launching counterattacks across the border, and he could no longer be away.”
“So what are you going to do?” Thayle asked.
“I have no choice but to go to him,” Gersius replied. “We will go on Sarah and meet him at the front lines to assess the current situation while our army remains in place here. I plan to fly out this very night and return the following night.”
“Do you think it’s bad?” Thayle asked as she felt his apprehension.
“His letter said the lines were holding strong, but he believed they were trying to keep him contained. They want to put a stop to his probing attacks and prevent further damage to their build-up,” Gersius explained. “I believe they are waiting for the missing army to get into position and sweep in from the rear. They want to cut off and trap the bulk of our forces at the border, then destroy them, leaving the empire defenseless.”
“Hence why Lilly finding those scouts was so important,” Thayle said. “Now you know their army is somewhere in those mountains.”
“But where?” Gersius asked. “Sarah has flown over them a dozen times now. She has seen no sign of a massive camp. I doubt a large army could hide even using those carefully concealed tents.”
Thayle agreed with his assessment that an army couldn't be hidden so easily. He held her tight while searching those distant peaks hoping he would find that army before they found him. They stood alone for an hour in their warm embrace, looking for a sign of hope. Eventually, Gersius ended their moment, and they walked back to the camp in silence. They went through the tents and greeted the passing soldiers until finally arriving at the meeting tent. Inside was a much smaller tent with four priests of Balisha standing watch. Gersius led the way and opened the flap to reveal Thayle's egg sitting in a nest of blankets.
“This is our child,” Thayle said as she put her hand on the shell.
Gersius put his hand over hers, and together they slid along the slightly bumpy surface. He couldn't believe that he had two children on the way, and if the dream was right, Sarah would provide him with a third. It was too much to hope for but feeling this shell made him long for the time when all he had to do was take care of his family.
“It will happen one day,” Thayle assured him. “We will be a family just how we all want.”
The rest of the day was spent preparing the commanders for their departure. Gersius was anxious about leaving them with only Shadros, but he needed Sarah for her speed. He also feared to leave Lilly behind, where she might risk going to find the scouts again. He wanted to keep her close where he knew she was safe and could prevent the dream from becoming a reality.
That night they flew off into a dark sky that smelled of rain. Sarah beat the air and carried them at great speed, determined to reach the distant forts before morning. Thayle sat in Lilly's arms, enjoying the warm embrace. Gersius sat behind Lilly, holding her tightly as if she might vanish at any moment. She was her usual loving self, talking about frivolous things like a dress she had seen and how she wanted to try wearing hats.
Gersius delighted in holding her, the sweet little dragon that had stolen his heart. At one point in the flight, she leaned back and stretched her neck to rest her head on his shoulder. He was able to look into those blue eyes that sparkled even the dark night. She whispered that she loved him and reached a hand up to stroke his cheek as he tried not to let his fear surface.
Sarah joined them in their conversation, wondering if Thayle could get pregnant again. She reasoned that Thayle could lay an egg roughly every two to three months, rapidly growing their family.
Thayle was indignant to the idea, citing that she wasn't an animal to breed for offspring. Sarah didn't seem to understand her perspective and assumed they wanted more children. Lilly suspected that Thayle would not be able to get pregnant so easily as this was something Balisha was against. Humans bred too quickly for dragons, and if a dragon were to breed at their rate would lead to dozens of broodlings a year. She believed that Thayle was covered under Balisha's limitations and would only be able to have a single child roughly once a year.
“That something to consider,” Gersius said as he pondered the thought. “Dragons could breed out of control if they wanted to.”
“Honestly, I am surprised that hasn't happened before,” Thayle said. “They get pregnant every time and can have as many as a dozen children in a single go.”
“That only happens with the very large dragons like myself,” Sarah corrected. “A younger dragon-like Lilly would likely have two eggs at most.”
“So age is a factor,” Gersius said as he squeezed Lilly.
“Don’t you squeeze me like that,” Lilly protested. “I already gave you a child. I am not having another one for a long time.”
“A year will go by fast,” Thayle said as she turned to poke at Lilly's tummy. “Soon, you will be growing another egg.”
Lilly blushed and covered her stomach as thoughts of another egg played through her head. They all read her thoughts and laughed as Gersius rocked her gently. It was a magical moment of peace as they flew toward a desperate situation. They all knew that there would be little time for this kind of idle lighthearted banter once they landed.
The first of the frontier forts came into view just as the morning sun began to brighten the sky. Thayle was shocked at how fortified it was, with tall, thick walls perched on a near sheer cliff face. A chain of hills came to an abrupt end and then dropped to a flat rolling plain beyond.
Gersius explained how the legend was the land cracked here and fell in the cataclysm of the last dragon war. This created a long ridge of hills and jagged cliffs with only a few easy routes down. All of those routes were protected by strong fortifications, and there were walls, towers, and forts across the entire expanse.
Sarah quickly confirmed that this line of broken land didn't use to exist in her day. She had flown over this land long ago and remembered its once splendid beauty. She described thick forests that spread as far as the eye could see and a small lake due north along the base of the mountains.
They could see the walls were full of soldiers, and extra camps had been built on the empire side to provide rapid reinforcements. Gersius had Sarah turn north and follow the line, looking for a particular fort. It would be a complex of five walls and many towers with iron-plated gates. This was known in the empire as the anvil, and it was here Gams had set up his command.
Sarah turned and wandered over the green plains, keeping the border forts on her right. She flew for less than an hour when a dark mass appeared on her left. Gersius stood on her back to get a better look, but he didn't need dragon sight to know what it was.
“Is that one of the Doan armies?” Thayle asked as she marveled at the size of the dark patch.
“It is,” Gersius replied as the pressure of war returned in full force. “It is much larger than I had anticipated. It has grown since last I was here.”
“All those dark things are people?” Lilly asked as she leaned over. “There must be thousands of them.”
“Tens of thousands,” Sarah corrected as she used her dragon sight. “I can see massive pens full of those horrible things you call bandersooks. They must have thousands of those as well.”
If that wasn't enough to sour their mood, what they saw next added fuel to the fire. Sarah flew over a battleground less than a hundred meters from the walls of the cliff. Thousands of bodies lay in the trampled grass, and the nearby walls on the cliff were cracked and cratered. Many of the bodies were bandersooks, but mixed in were the armored bodies of soldiers from the empire. In addition, there were burned structures that Gersius could only assume had once been siege engines brought up to attack the walls.
“Are those our soldiers?” Lilly asked.
“They killed twenty to one at least,” Sarah said as she looked down. “But most of the enemy forces are those beasts.”
“They were testing this part of the wall,” Gersius said. “They are probably probing Gam's defenses, looking for a weak spot to attack and breakthrough.”
“Why didn't they stay behind the wall?” Thayle asked in distress at the sight. “Going out there was inviting disaster.”
Gersius agreed but then pointed to the smoldering piles of ash and explained that they had once been trebuchets. The enemy probably brought them up and began assaulting the walls. The defenders launched a desperate counterattack to destroy them before the walls could be broken.
“So they can force us to come out,” Thayle groaned.
“And when we did, they sent those animals in to do the fighting,” Sarah said.
“It is probably meant to wear us down,” Gersius explained. “Gams started his raids to weaken their numbers, so they started raiding right back.”
“So many will die,” Lilly said in awe as they continued to fly over the fortifications. She looked down on the thousands of men on the walls or in assembly grounds safely behind them. They stood as the only defense against a black tide of death sent forth to kill by command of dragons. When those two sides finally collided in a full-on battle, the death toll would rival Gersius's entire march to Calathen.
“These armies are small compared to what marched in the last war,” Sarah said. “I saw a battle of hundreds of thousands on both sides and several thousand dragons in the air.”
“Several thousand dragons,” Lilly gasped, unable to conceive of that many dragons being in one place at one time.
“Smaller or not, the death toll is about to climb to levels we all hoped to avoid,” Gersius said as the bodies finally started to end.
Sarah veered to the right and returned to flying directly over the walls, looking for the fort Gersius had described. They found it an hour later and were not surprised to see fires burning in the plains from a battle that must have happened hours ago. The fort was built on a spike of stone rising high above the lower plains and commanding a superior view of the land. Around it were five levels of walls, towers, barracks, and storerooms, each level lower than the previous one. The walls that faced the plains were plated in metal, providing an extra measure of protection from large weapons. All the gates were similarly plated, and many were doubled, so breaching one gate only gave you access to a narrow tunnel. Soldiers standing on higher ramparts could rain death on those trapped in the tunnels, turning them into killing grounds. Nearby was one of the wide low roads that descended in a ramp from the high plateau to the lower plains. Where it reached the hills was a massive iron gate set on a stone wall, so thick Sarah could easily walk on it. Hundreds of men stood on the walls, ensuring the gates could not be taken easily. Behind them, high on the upper fields, was a staging area for cavalry, kept nearby so they could ride out to and challenge anyone on the plains.
As Sarah flew in a spiral, it was clear a battle had been fought in the fields below. The casualties appeared to be few, and most of them Doan, but horses and knights were mixed in. What was odd were the fires, burning in the grass in long lines until Gersius realized those were dragon attacks.
“It had to be a red,” Sarah said as they all felt her fear over the bind. She was worried that it was Rose and her daughter would be a part of the coming major attack.
“Land in the yard outside the lowest gate,” Gersius said, pointing back to the keep. “We will announce our presence properly and be escorted to Gams.”
Sarah did as instructed, slowly working her way down to land in the yard outside the lower walls. Soldiers ran about in alarm, spreading over the walls as alarm horns blared, but it all ended when Gersius called out.
“Stand down, soldiers of the empire,” he called to the walls. “Your emperor and empresses have come.”
The heavy metal doors began to grind open a moment later, signaling that the danger was past.
“They seem nervous,” Thayle noted as they looked up to the high walls to see people pointing.
“They have been attacked by dragons,” Gersius replied as they began to climb down. “I am sure Sarah arriving unannounced has done nothing to ease their fears.”
“Get clear, and I will change,” Sarah said once they were down. She took the saddle off as they approached the gate, then began the transformation before the eyes of hundreds of men. They looked on in awe as she was engulfed in a whirlwind of black clouds that flashed with lightning. A minute later, she strolled out wearing a regal green gown trimmed in gold and inlaid with patterns of dragons.
“I admire your choice of color,” Thayle said as Sarah joined their side and hooked Gersius’s arm.
“I happen to have a fondness for green and blue,” Sarah said with a slight smile. Gersius led the way wearing his dragon knight armor with Sarah on his arm. Thayle, also in her dragon knight armor, walked at his left, holding hands with Lilly, who was dressed in the armor of her order. The group appeared as shining champions and, to the soldiers, acted as a great sign of hope. Cheers went up as they began to pass through the lower portions of the keep, with soldiers lining the way to salute, pray, or drop to a knee in supplication.
Gersius was halfway through the complex when a knight captain of Astikar met them and ushered them forward, taking them to meet Gams, who was in the central structure. They passed through gate after gate, the inner yards getting smaller with each level they ascended. They finally reached the stone fortress in the center and were ushered into the deeper halls.
In moments they were announced to a room full of men who had the look desperation in their eyes. They stood around a table covered in maps, charts, dispatches, and reports that had all been heavily read. At the center of the group was an old man whose thinning hair hung down as he leaned on the table with both hands.
Gams looked tired as his weary eyes met Gersius’s. His face was heavily creased, and his shoulders sagged from the weight of the situation. Channi stood behind him, her arms crossed and looking as dour as the gathered leaders, her disapproval clear in her gaze.
“I might have known you would come here,” Gams said as he slowly straightened up. “I am afraid I don’t have a glowing report to give you.”
“I did not expect you to shower me with good news when your messenger said the situation was so heated you could not get away,” Gersius replied. “But I have come to see what I can do to aid you.”
“I need a miracle,” Gams replied and gestured to the table where a long row of papers had been placed and labeled to represent the entire line of border keeps. Every fortification was marked and labeled, and around them were wooden tokens in various shapes. These had little flags with names, numbers, and, in some cases, colors.
Gersius could see it was a layout of all the units that made up the defensive line, marked and placed, so Gams knew where everything was at a glance. He saw a few of the formations in the south had red pins stuck in them and assumed that meant they had been bloodied in fighting and were now recuperating. He was impressed to see that Gams had divided the men into four major fronts, and each front had its own pool of reinforcements positioned so it could reach any part of its region in hours.
Gams explained how his initial raids took the Doan by surprise and inflicted serious harm. However, they were never able to gain ground or drive the enemy back. Eventually, the Doan started to lay ambushes, even going so far as to dig pits to topple horses. Then all at once, they attacked the far north and south, never pushing too hard but always getting close enough to the walls to exchange arrows and spellfire. Gams assumed it was a ploy to draw strength away from the center and was careful not to overreact. He kept his strength fortified, and the Doan began a series of probing attacks, always striking at different parts of the walls. Recently those attacks had not only stepped up but now included siege engines that were doing damage, slowly chipping away at his defenses.
Gersius explained that they had flown over one of those battlefields and assumed he had been forced to send men out to attack the machines.
“I had no choice,” Gams replied in a tone that reeked of regret. “We couldn't reach them with arrows, and they were cracking our walls. If I hadn't acted, the Doan would already be marching through a gap and spilling into the empire.”
“The same sort of attack has been repeated in a dozen places along the line,” a woman said as she stepped forward. “The enemy is looking for a weakness.”
“Chiune,” Thayle said as she was relieved to see the leader of the first company.
“Greetings, champion of Ulustrah,” the woman said with a slight nod.
Thayle nodded in return but noted that Chiune also looked tired. Gersius saw the expression as well and knew that these people were getting very little sleep. He asked when the attacks occurred, and they reported that they were happening around the clock. At all times, they were under attack somewhere, and they expected a messenger to arrive any moment to tell them where it was happening now.
Gersius and his family moved to the table, looking over the lines and asking questions. The most recent battle had been fought in the fields right outside. The Doan moved weavers in to begin pelting the walls, and Gams sent cavalry to wipe them out. The enemy fled at the sight of the charging horses, only to draw them far enough for a dragon to descend on them.
Sarah tensed as Gams described a red larger than Lilly but smaller than Sarah herself. She was only relieved when Lilly directly asked him to describe the length of the dragon's neck, and Gams said it was short and thick.
“A male,” Sarah said with a sigh, as it proved the dragon couldn't have been Rose.
“We have had dragon attacks in five locations,” Chiune added. “Always after they lure our forces out from behind our walls.”
“They knew we have the means to reach them if they fly over the walls,” Gersius said with a nod.
“But I can't afford not to send men out when they attack,” Gams insisted. “They can out range us, and I can't ignore them trying to dismantle our walls. We need to stop hiding and march out in force, taking the fight to them directly and decisively.”
“The enemy's numbers are growing as well,” a man dressed in the armor of Vellis said. “We have begun to suspect this missing third army might be a ruse. It is possible they disbanded it and have divided the men into the other two armies.”
Gersius had already considered that thought, especially considering the hit-and-run tactics in the north. It was possible there was no third army anymore, and the whole maneuver was a ruse to keep his army divided. For all he knew, there were a few thousand Doan hidden in tiny camps across the mountains. They were going to conduct these raids to convince him the larger army was nearby and tie down a significant number of his forces. More importantly, it kept his dragons away from the front lines, allowing the enemy dragons to act with impunity.
“I have already considered this possibility,” Gersius said and explained the raids and the discovery of Doan scouts in the north. He wasn't convinced the army was disbanded, but he had no proof they were in the north. He informed them that he had moved his army further west in the event it was needed here, but something told him the true danger was in the mountains.
“I want to say you're wrong, but I have seen that gut instinct in action before,” Gams said and leaned over the table again. “But this puts us in a bad position. We can't stay behind these walls if the Doan are going to use withering raids to slowly weaken us, and we can't march out in force without you and your army.”
“This third army has been the greatest thorn in our side since the beginning of the conflict,” Sarah growled. “But I don't believe it has been disbanded. I am convinced it is in the north. Numidel died trying to discover it, and I don't think the enemy would have bothered unless he had found where it was.”
“Any chance on more soldiers then?” Gams asked as Gersius shook his head.
“I have sent you everything I can spare,” Gersius said. “I have plenty of men and a huge surplus of women of Ulustrah, but I lack weapons and armor to equip them. I have the smiths and craftsmen working as fast as they can, but the loss of the priests of Gorrin has crippled production.
“I still can’t believe they have sided with the enemy,” the man of Vellis said. “They always seemed such a noble order.”
Gersius nodded in agreement but explained that they strongly believed in the leadership of their forge master. He compared it to the order of Astikar and how they stood behind the Father Abbot because tradition demanded they do so. It took a major upheaval to break that obedience and bring the men around to the light.
“It doesn’t help that we plan to execute the man,” Sarah said.
“He deserves it,” Lilly said in an angry tone. “He made that sword that nearly killed Gersius, and if I had my way, I would impale him on it and leave him for the crows to eat.”
All eyes turned at the shockingly cruel words of Lilly, who was known for her more gentle demeanor. Gersius turned and pulled her into an embrace, not caring what his commanders thought as she hugged him.
“Back to the point,” Gams said to restore some decorum. “We can't ride out, and we can't hide here. You must find that army soon and crush it before the Doan find a way to break through.”
“How long do you think we have?” Thayle asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“One month is our best estimate,” Gams said. “We assume the rate of attacks will slowly increase and, at the present course, predict that some point of our defenses will fail in just over a month. Provided the breech is small, I can plug it for a while, but our casualties will soar, and I will have to keep feeding men into it.”
It was a dark prediction, but one Gersius had expected. He realized the missing army had to be found at all costs, even if he had to send men to certain death looking for it. If he flooded the mountains with small units, he could narrow down where the army was by focusing on where his men kept disappearing.
“That’s a terrible way to solve the problem,” Thayle said and shook her head. “Surely there is something else we could do?”
Gersius looked back to the table and map of his defenses. The walls were strong but spread out over an enormous distance. There would never be enough men to hold the entire distance forever. Sooner or later, the Doan were going to break through, and their current tactics suggested that was exactly what they wanted to do. Gams needed to take the fight to them, but he needed Gersius's army to do it. It would take him over a week to march his army here, meaning he had three weeks to find and destroy the Doan army. Sending out scouts to slowly search small areas wasn't enough. He would have to risk lives and send men scouring the entire region.
The fate of the entire empire was at stake, and the people were in danger. No sacrifice was too great at this point, not even the one in his arms.
