The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 02 - The Gathering (43 page)

Braon caught Thacker's
eye and frowned, and before long his children reluctantly stepped back to their
posts. Suppressing the urge to throw Brynn an apologetic look, he said,
“General Graden, if you would allow Val’Trisian to place the view back to where
it was in the beginning?”

Nodding in
response, he stepped from the magical field as the dark elf entered. Although
Braon had not demonstrated how to cause the map to look broader, Val’Trisian
had no trouble guessing correctly. Her hands drew closer together and the view
became larger. She had to repeat the maneuver several times before the entire
cliff returned, and the last time she moved her hands so fast that the enchanted
liquid veritably flew to bring the Giant’s Shelf gliding into place.

Braon waited
until their conversation diminished to address them. “Generals, this map has
been created for the express purpose of this battle, and we are more than
fortunate to have it, despite the cost in its creation. With its help, as well
as the Links assigned to you, I believe we will have an effective means of
communication. The map lets us see the battle, and through Thacker we can order
you in what needs to be done. Any questions at this point?”

Golic was the
first to ask, “Even with the telepath and map there is no way for you to stay
in touch with all seven of us at once. What are we supposed to do when there
are no specific orders given?”

“Defend your area
to the best of your ability, with whatever means necessary. However, there are
a few specific rules that you must remember.” Moving forward, he pointed at the
three obvious divisions within West Falls. “Use your front division as you see
fit, as long as it doesn’t counteract our orders—but, do not send in either the
first reserves, or wake the second reserves without permission. If it looks as
if you are going to be overrun and we haven’t given you orders, send a message
through your Link and we will focus on your battalion.”

“Why can’t we
send in the reserves?” Val’Trisian asked, her expression annoyed.

“This battle
is going to last seven days—hopefully. What that means is that if you send in
your first reserves or rouse your sleeping second reserves to send them to
battle, the following day or days will be infinitely more difficult. Newhawk
and I will occasionally order you to send in the first reserves, but we will
avoid calling on the second reserves at all costs. If we ever do, you will know
that our entire forces are about to be overrun. Although we have gathered over
a million to this cliff, it is vital that we fight as a single unit.” The dark
elf lapsed into silence, but Braon noted that his answer seemed to have
satisfied her.

“What are you
going to do if there is a breach in the line?” Talfar asked. “Especially
between us and the city.”

He’d expected
the question and nodded. “Our first priority is to maintain the line, but if a
hole opens where we don’t want it to, we will call in the reserves, and if
necessary, the reserves of neighboring battalions. Our last resort will be to
fall back to the city and defend its walls. If I order a retreat,
do not
wait.
It means you must follow the retreat plans that you have been trained
on. If that order is issued, we will do so in phases, starting with the Lake
Road and The Gray.” He pointed at the two ends of the map to emphasize his
point.

“What if the
city is breached?” Emeka asked.

Braon saw the elven
general frown and begin to answer but he cut him off. "If the city is
breached, we will survive for less than twenty-four hours. Lucky for us, the
city gates are almost impregnable.” Stepping into the map, he expertly enhanced
the image until it showed the city, and then maneuvered it downward into the
ground. Deiran coughed in shock as the magic went subterranean, revealing the
interior caverns of the city. Once the city gates were visible, he focused the
enchanted liquid to the maximum.

“As you know,
the main city gates are false,” Braon said, pointing at the main gates backed
by a fifty foot column of stone. “I believe the enemy will attempt either a
battering ram, or try to tear the portal apart. During the last few weeks—” He
nodded at Deiran. “—we have further reinforced the gates with as many
enchantments as possible. If we are lucky, it should hold throughout the week.
If not, they will hammer the doors enough to see rock behind them and realize
they have been attacking the wrong place. Then it will only be a matter of time
before the real gates are discovered.” He slid his fingers through the map to
where the real entrances were located to the right and left of the false gate.
“Just in case, we have filled the entrance corridors with stone and debris and
the dwarves have added a few other touches that will discourage them from
entering.”

For the first
time Onix spoke. “What are our weakest points, besides the city gates?”

With nimble
fingers, Braon shifted the map and broadened it until they were looking at the Lake
Road. “Golic’s battalion faces the greatest weakness we possess. The Lake Road is
quite honestly a highway to flank us. Fortunately, it is just fifty feet wide
and a few miles long.”

Golic glanced
at Braon for tacit permission and said, pointing at the several new walls
adorning the road, “As you can see, there are seven special defensive walls
that have been built to defend the road. If one is lost, we will retreat to the
next, and so forth.”

“What do you
mean by special?” Val’Trisian asked.

From next to
her, Onix answered, “Our commander asked us to build the walls on the road so
that if they are struck, the impact will be absorbed. The stone will not
shatter from repeated blows.”

Her eyes
widened and she looked at Braon in confusion, “Why would you do that?”

Braon allowed
a small smile. “Those defenses are crucial to our survival. If they are lost
before day five, then we are all lost. Because of that, it was prudent that
they were constructed to take additional punishment and still stand. As with
most barricades, the simplest way to destroy them is to smash them, and our
enemies will certainly attempt that. In this case, if an enemy tries to crush
the stone, their weapon will sink into the wall instead. The material will take
quite a pounding before breaking.”

“How was this
done?” Talfar asked, his eyes wide.

Braon directed
the question to Onix and the dwarf looked at the gnome general, “We made it
porous by pulling sediment out of it. We have tested it and it will have the
desired effect.” He threw a look in Braon’s direction, and even under the bushy
eyebrows he could see the dwarf was pleased.

Braon inclined
his head towards the dwarf before continuing, “Because of our two weak points,
our entire strategy is based on fortifying the road and the city,” Braon said.
"However, I do consider it very likely that they will attack the cliff as
a whole, and there will be times they get through. If they do, use your cavalry
to sweep them from the cliff and close the breach. Also, don’t forget the dwarf
engineers attached to your command center. They have used stone magic to rig
many sections of the cliff to explode. When used, they should cause most
anything on the cliff to fall, and leave holes to make it more difficult for
the fiends to climb. I trust that you will be judicious in their use.”

“So you still believe
they will be able to scale the Giant’s Shelf?” Deiran asked with just a trace
of disbelief.

“I do,” Braon
exclaimed, his confidence in the enemy coloring his tone.

“Our people
fight better than you know,” Val’Trisian said. “We should be at the road, not
in The Deep behind a wall.”

Bowing to show
his respect, Braon said, “I placed your people there for a reason.” He slid the
map to The Deep and pointed at the wall. “When the wall comes down, The Deep
will become one of the most difficult places to defend, despite the extra
measures we have taken to help you. Because it slopes down, and the ground is
more rocky, it prevents us from using our cavalry, leaving only infantry. You,
however . . .” he raised his eyebrows and waited.

“—have lizards
as mounts,” she finished, understanding spreading across her features, “which
don’t need even ground to run.” Once again she appeared satisfied and returned
to peering at the map with renewed interest.

Before Braon
could continue, the doors burst open and Rokei darted in. “Commander,” he said
breathlessly, “you’d better see this.”

Braon
hesitated; he’d given orders that no one should disturb them, but he trusted
Rokei enough to listen. Nodding, he moved towards the doors, but the elf guard
shook his head. “
All
of you should come.”

Braon frowned,
and then turned and swept his hand for everyone to follow him. The entire group
swept from the room and followed Rokei as he hurried up the stairs. Behind him,
several of the generals were speculating about what was going on, but Braon had
a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Rokei’s expression had been unmistakable,
and that caused him to feel a rising fear.

Were they
early?

In moments
they reached the roof, and Braon stepped into the bright light of the late afternoon.
Blinking against the glare, he turned to Rokei to ask, but he pointed south.
Braon turned and gazed into the distance, and it didn’t take him long to see
what had caused the guard to interrupt the council.

His stomach
clenched as he saw a long, dark line along the horizon. Black and foreboding,
it was too straight and large to be a cloud. The shadow began at the lake and
stretched several miles to the west, and Braon knew instantly what it was.

“What is it?”
Talfar asked.

“The last
thing the oracle said to me was that Draeken’s army would bring darkness,”
Braon said, his voice tight. “I didn’t understand until now.”

“That’s the
army?” Emeka gasped.

“Above the
army,” Val’Trisian said, covering her eyes to shade the light. “When they
attacked us below, we knew it affected the light but it wasn't clear what.”

“How many have
we gathered?” Graden asked, his voice concerned.

Deiran
answered, his voice still confident, “We passed a million a week ago.” The elf
general paused and then added with a derisive snort, “With the gathering we
have put together, no army will breach the city or cliff.”

Several heads
turned to look at him, their expressions scornful, but Braon didn't turn. The
time to fulfill his role was nearly upon him, and the weight of so many lives
settled onto him, causing his knees to tremble. In his heart he knew that in
two days, thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, were going to die, and the
only thing standing between their survival and extinction . . . was his mind.

Turning to the
generals, he exclaimed. “Time is short, and there is more to discuss.”

Reluctantly
everyone turned to re-enter the house of Runya, each throwing glances at the
proximity of their invaders. Braon looked back once before descending.

Behind him,
powerful lightning began to flash, even though there was no storm.

Chapter
33: The Hastening

Gaze slumped
against one of the trees of Numenessee and looked south at the shadow that had
consumed the sky. It seemed like years since he’d been able to sleep, and the
last week had been the worst of it. Since they had left the capitol city of Talinor,
they had ridden with the surviving elves westward until they reached a deserted
Tallendale, but few had made it this far. Horses became tired, elves became
exhausted, and many could not keep up with the relentless pace set by their
pursuers. After a few small skirmishes with scouting sipers, just Arzai, Loken,
Lexi, and seven others had made it to the north side of the Blue River with
Anders and Gaze. All of them dismounted and collapsed in weariness, unable to
continue.

The only
possible thing left to slow the invasion was to burn Numenessee, something that
the elves had balked at. The forest name meant
light of hope
, and none
of the fair race wanted to see it destroyed—particularly since their village
would go with it. Anders had argued that it would be leveled by the fiends
anyway, and that hope might as well burn to give them time. Unconvinced, the
elves held out that the army wouldn’t raze their beloved home. Lexi had finally
settled it with a simple bitter command, “We burn it.”

Wearily, Gaze
looked south. Just as before, the dark cloud hovered a few miles behind them,
not stormy or rainy, just . . . blackness. Despite the proximity and the need
to hurry to Azertorn, all the elves had fallen asleep, and after two minutes
the only ones with their eyes open were Gaze and Anders.

“How much time
do you think we have?” Anders asked through cracked lips.

Gaze threw a
look at the dark line in the sky, and once again had the unspeakable idea that the
darkness was chasing the light. “Twenty minutes before the skorpians are in
range. Maybe thirty before they reach the river.”

“At least you
had a chance to meet a girl,” Anders said.

Gaze grinned
in spite of himself. Lexi and he had gotten close over the last week, and she
had even smiled at him a few times. He liked to think that she felt the same
for him as he felt for her.

“If we live,
maybe I can buy her a mug of ale,” Gaze said.

“If we live,
you should buy her more than a mug, you should buy her a barrel. How many times
has she saved us? Three? Four? I’ve lost track.”

“Hey, I’ve
saved her too, you know,” Gaze said in defense. “I’d say it’s about even.”

“Honestly
though, I can’t believe that elves survived this last week. I have never seen
one endure so much,” Anders said, his voice thoughtful.

Gaze snorted
and glanced at the unconscious elves. “They lost how many coming out of the
city? Twenty?”