I could hear Demi in my head, but it sounded like she was a thousand miles away. I was having one of those moments in my life where you just do an unscheduled mental meltdown. The woman who talked me into changing my life, risking my life, and ultimately giving my life up for a cause as old as time, had just told me she was a Dark Lord. That was the very thing I had spent my existence fighting against for as long as I can remember. I couldn't read the look on her face, but bear in mind, I was having some mental issues at the time. Come on Tanis, get it together. Was that me, or Demi?
"Tanis, snap out of it!"
My eyes rolled over to Demi; ah...it was her talking to me. Now she was playing bells and if she does that, then things can't be all bad, right? Wait a minute, was she laughing at me?
I tore my vision away from Demi and locked eyes with Queen Mother. She had both of my hands in hers. I don't remember her doing that.
"Tanis...I am not a Dark Lord. I was born into the family that produces them. I couldn't help that. When I realized what they were, I fought my way across the Provinces and crossed the Styx on the ferry. Remember that whole...can't cross the river if you live for the Dark Lords, thing?"
Ever heard that at the point of death or crisis that your life passes before your eyes? I always thought that was a crock of horse crap, and it isn't like I've never been in one of those situations before. For whatever reason, this time it hit with a vengeance, and I saw everything I'd ever done clicking in front of me like a bad movie. As the last frame shattered and the present began to demand my attention, Queen Mother's face came into focus, and I clearly saw the pain she felt. All of it was like an open book, one excruciating day at a time that she called her life. It was no wonder she acted paranoid at times, with waves of depression that would come and go like the tides on the ocean. I saw it all, and along with the understanding, I felt the shame. Not hers, no... Mine and I was reacting to the news exactly like she feared I would. Trust me, that was unacceptable, and she deserved better than that.
"It certainly explains why Diana hates you so much, but it also proves you are not like them and that's good enough for me. I thought it was the barrier that had you going so hard to amass an army, because of the crystal keys. But that's not it, is it? You've been watching the troop movement and listening to the threats, and that's why you've been in a hurry."
She nodded once and wiped her eyes. The tears had come in waves and dried in streaks.
"I had no idea how they would get across, I just believed they would. Say what you want about the Dark Lords, but they are dedicated to their causes and will do anything to achieve them. I try not to hate my family, but I lose that fight every day, and promise myself I'll try harder the next. Sadly, it's a losing battle, one that I have fought for a long time."
Demi wasn't laughing at me.It turns out she also laughs when she's nervous or scared, and right now I'm assuming it's both. It was unnerving at the time, but I know her heart was in the right place.
"Ariella, we don't have much time, and I can't imagine the two Green or Emerald dragons helping us. We shouldn't depend on them in any case, although I think we should try to free them. They deserve that if nothing else, but we don't have a clue as to where they are. Until we figure that out, we're dead in the water."
That's when it hit me. Diana did slip; it just didn't seem like it at the time.
"I think I know where they are."
Queen Mother looked up at me with the kind of look that says, "Man, I hope you're right, but where did that come from?" I sat back down and was understandably excited.
"When I was at the Royal Palace, I had gotten away from Diana and then she cornered me again. It was something she said, and at the time it didn't ring any bells. She told me the other Lords wanted me taken prisoner and then brought to the demon, Enmakar. I didn't connect the dots, but knowing what I know now, it makes sense. Don't you see?"
Queen Mother looked pensive, but she shook her head.
"Enmakar is in Apollyon, where they have the second strongest citadel on the Provinces...the Black Fortress. The fortification on that castle is very similar to the Palace but has more underground. Keeping the dragons at the Palace is too predictable, and quite frankly, not that difficult to get into. It's getting out that's hard. The one in Apollyon is mostly subterranean, making it equally as hard to get in as the Palace was getting out. Not to mention, it's only a short distance to the Lake of Fire, which is a lot deeper into the Provinces than Gehenna. I don't think the dragons would be able to leave that fortress once inside, at least not without help."
Now The Ariella was nodding and looking a great deal more like the normal her, if you get my drift.
"I think you're right, and I also think I know how they got the dragons there without anyone seeing a thing. There's an underground passage that leads from the Ice Caves to Apollyon. I was taught about that when I was just a kid. We played in it when we got bored."
Wow, that freaked me out a little, but at least she agrees with me about the location. I could feel Demi's mind encroaching onto mine.
"Tanis, You and I could get in there, I know it."
That little girl voice of hers, jeez, I have a hard time telling her "no" about anything. Queen Mother will never go for it, and I'm not sure I will ultimately be swayed by a cute little voice either. I know you and Queen Mother can hear me, Demi, and the answer is no.
"It would take an army to get to the fortress, let alone get in. Once there, the losses would be astronomical. I can't see a frontal assault working, especially if you lose half your troops just getting in. You'd lose the other half trying to get back out."
Queen Mother had been pacing around my area like a trapped animal.
"I can't have you and Demi going in alone. I can't justify a frontal assault with an army, and I can't allow their army invading this side of the river. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place...and now, I'm pissed off. We're having a section leader meeting in an hour, be there."
Just like that, she's gone, and I have no idea what she's planning, but I guess we'll all know in an hour.
Life at the mountain had turned into a series of ups and downs that didn't have an end in sight. Imagine talking to the designer of a roller coaster as it pulls away from the loading area. You ask him when the finish date is because the time seems too short, and the man gives you a date which doesn't happen for three days. That's how Mt. Drago had begun to feel, and it made me feel very mortal.
One hour later, Demi and I landed next to the Veranda, which was already filling up with the other riders. Demi immediately morphed into her human form and walked with me to the massive conference table, where we sat with our backs to the Cone drop off. Just at first glance, this looked like the largest section leader meeting yet, and included people I hadn't really met. Queen Mother walked in and looked around with a satisfied demeanor before she too sat down. The two Kings positioned themselves behind her in impromptu and leisurely postures. I didn't recognize the woman sitting next to Ariel until it dawned on me that it was Arraness in human form. She nodded to Demi and me and we acknowledged her as Queen Mother started the proceedings.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice. We have an emergency brewing, and I know rumors have been flying around Mt. Drago today. I'm going to get you up to speed and then we will collectively put together a strategy that will kill as many bats with one stone as possible. The one thing that I do know is that there is not much time. So, we need to maximize the time we have and utilize the greatest number of resources that can be brought to bear. This will include all of us, so as we go along today, feel free to jump in if you see a way to improve."
Well, that's how she got it started, and then she divulged just about everything to them, with the exception of her heritage. I guess she felt ill at ease with that particular chunk of information, not that I could blame her. The list of installations rose to the top of the heap as a method to accomplish multiple things at the same time. While we performed raids on the Aguiva encampments, we could then also observe troop movement and attack them while they were on the road to their next destination. It was similar to General Rommel's tactics during World War II, and totally mobile. The thought being, it's harder to hit a moving target than one who's stationary. Everyone was onboard for that, and then the conversation evolved to training methods and schedules.
Some of the different factions of Queen Mother's army didn't really need to be trained, such as the Hellhounds and the Chosen. They were all raised to be fighters; it was in their DNA, so the only thing they needed was a target to destroy. The grottos were another story, and the training Queen Mother was talking about portended to be grueling and somewhat long winded. There were known methods that would help to protect both the riders and their dragons. Our job was to get up to speed with these tactics and then deploy the teams to begin bringing down the Aguiva installations.
Demi was angry because no matter how it was presented, The Ariella would not relinquish her opinion about a dragon's age where combat was imminent. The harder Demi tried to get Queen Mother to change her mind, the farther away her chances became. Even Demi saw her own immaturity toward the last of the meeting, and her anger turned to depression. I felt terrible for her, and as Demi's rider, I too felt that it was unfair to have to run missions without my dragon. Flip the coin over though, and I had equally as strong feelings about keeping her safe. I don't know that I'll ever feel any different about that aspect though.I mean what if, right?
The subject of Projectors came up and Queen Mother shot down the idea without even taking a vote. None of us questioned her, and all of us felt the same. We were just trying to even the playing field because the Dark Lords will use them. The results are always devastating.
Thomas Arden brought up the method Princess Rhylana used during her exodus, and it caused quite a bit of commotion. Having an Aguiva ride on the back of a wyvern and then dropping in at the last minute did have merit. I'd seen the method used up close and personal, and it's good for the rider and the Aguiva. Only distance would be a problem, as with Princess Rhylana's run. Fly too far and even the Blue's start having problems and have to come down. Once you're down below a certain altitude, The Dark Lords start throwing Projector bolts at you.
In the end, the piggyback method was approved, and also hitting as many installations at once with backup standing by. The installations not being hit will try to evacuate and run to a safer location. Queen Mother wanted to be ready for as many situations as possible, taking advantage of their miscues when they happen. Surprise would be on our side too, at least on the first round.
It was also determined to use the Hellhounds and the Chosen as advanced ground troops, to take out as many of the Projectors as possible before sending in the waves of dragons. As powerful as dragons are, they're vulnerable on the ground and it takes almost a minute for most of the Wyverns to gain enough speed to achieve flight. Once they have, it's a totally different story, as they can deflect most of the bolts and are heavily armored. With the Aguiva, it's a matter of speed versus armor, so it's imperative to knock out the Projector stations as quickly as possible.
The last thing decided was actually quite brilliant. Queen Mother wanted every larger dragon flying with as many of the Hellhounds and Chosen as they could carry, to minimize the distance they had to run to the installations. The larger dragons would then land several miles outside of the range for Projectors. The Hellhounds and Chosen would then form into Tennants, or larger, and begin the attack. They would then, by rotation, swing back after the installation has been secured, and collect the Hellhounds, Chosen and the eggs to return them all to Mt. Drago.
So, we were given one week to perfect the system and get ourselves ready for the mountain's first real attack on the Provinces. We all got to see the list of installations and there were thirteen total, with several more she had ruled out due to their locations. When I asked about those, she said that due to their locations, she believed they were decoys and nothing more. I didn't know enough to argue and neither did anyone else.
Several days had passed, and we were getting pretty good at troop loading, takeoffs and landings. We determined that one hundred Hellhounds could cling to the back of a Grey, and about the same for the Chosen, although not at the same time. Queen Mother had scheduled thirty to fly, and that actually meant fifteen for the Hellhounds and fifteen for the Chosen. A total of three thousand troops flying on the backs of thirty Grey dragons...impressive.
Each of the grottos contributed dragons to the effort. Like Demi, there were a few around her age that also got turned down. They didn't react any better than she did, and I don't blame them. All of the grottos except Emerald had selected fifteen dragons each and they drilled with the Aguiva for loading and unloading, as well as takeoffs and landings. It was determined that two Aguivas could comfortably ride on the back of a non-grey Wyvern and that gave us a total of ninety Wyverns, and one hundred and twenty Aguivas to bring to bear.
The Hellhounds and the Chosen did most of their work in the Down Below, while the rest of us trained in Commons. Day after day everyone worked from can until can't. The river was a hot spot every night for people to soak their sore muscles.
On the night of our departure, I stood in our area trying desperately not to make my goodbye sound so permanent. Demi was in human form, and between her mental link with me and the look on her face, I had to work very hard to keep the tears back. Then it was time to go, and she stepped over to our sleeping pad with the saddest look I had ever seen. She was really taking it hard. She climbed under the furs, closed her eyes, and I distinctly heard one bell. Just one and it sounded forlorn and final. It was the only time she had ever played the bells for another reason besides mirth.
It was a long trek down the corridor and the noise had begun to increase the closer I got to Commons. There was a stream of Hellhounds making their way up the ramp to the Castle. Along with them were the Chosen and they joked and talked among themselves as they walked. All of the dragons were spaced out in rows across Commons waiting their turn to head up the Cone. As I watched, the Aguiva were mounting onto the backs of the Wyverns, and within a few minutes were perched with their riders waiting to leave.
I went ahead up the Cone and threaded my way through the Hellhounds and Chosen that had already made it to the Northern Terrace. They were to be the first dragons on the Terrace, and as the first two lumbered into place, the appropriate number of Hellhounds and Chosen climbed on board.
The Ley Gates had been set and were waiting; now it was just a matter of time for all of the troops to leave the mountain. Each group had been given their target and had practiced the maneuvers relentlessly for a week.
Nata and Famill and their dragons walked off the Terrace, dropped until they reached air speed and began to climb as the next two moved into place to load their cargo. Each group was to wait once they passed the third Ley Gate until the remainder of their squadron had successfully made it through. From there, it was to be a straight shot to the destination. I was assigned to accompany the first group, and when they were finished, to rendezvous with a later group on their approach to the target. All in all, I had three groups, so it was going to be a long night. Once the last of the first group of dragons had taken off, I made my way to the terrace's edge and activated the rockets that would, one get me airborne, and two let me catch the dragons as they exited the third Ley Gate. I couldn't allow myself to think about the other squadrons no matter what happened. I had to stay focused and make sure the one I was with became successful. Queen Mother had scheduled herself and her two dragons, Basiliskos and Invectum, to fly with the third wave, and I was understandably ill at ease with that news.
The squadron was already forming when I exited the Ley Gate and shot forward to run point for them.
Forty-five minutes of flight time at extreme altitude, saw us approaching the first of the installations. So far, the Dark Lords had no idea we were in their back yard, and depending on how this first one went down, they may still not know.
We landed two miles away from their outer perimeter as planned and gave the Hellhounds and the Chosen time to climb down and get into position.
Then, with a signal from Nata, they fanned out and headed for the installations fence line. Three minutes later there was the sound of scuffling, and then silence. One of the Chosen signaled me, and I turned and signaled the dragons. Within five minutes the dragons were walking over what was left of the fence and getting as close to the installation's entrance as possible. The Hellhounds spread out to run the perimeter and watch for incoming hostiles, while the Chosen loaded eggs that came up from deep underground. The same netting we had used before to store the eggs was employed tonight, and as before, it was perfect for the job.
There were two surprises with this first raid, and the first one was, not all of the eggs were Aguiva, and unless I am mistaken the odd ones were Wyvern. The second surprise was that there were no adult Aguivas. Not totally shocking, but we had been hoping for some adult Warbirds.
When the facilities had been gutted and there were no more eggs or personnel inside, it was my turn. Queen Mother doesn't want these breeding units in existence, and I agree one hundred percent. So, after the dragons had pulled back and were getting ready to depart, I shot two rockets into the building and turned the entire area into a crater. They won't be breeding any dragons from here for a while. I could see them running, building speed to lift off, and that meant it was time to go. This run constituted a minor miracle. There were no casualties and no injuries, just a clear success, and nothing left for the bad guys to build with. My sensors showed me, with Walter's help, that there had been thirty troops and workers assigned to this particular facility. That is seriously said as past tense, because the Hellhounds and the Chosen waved across and left nothing in their wake.
Walter showed me campfires off in the distance, and to be able to see campfires that far away, there must be an immense number of them. Our next stop is going the other way, so Walter and I will swing back around later if we have enough time.
Fifteen minutes in the air showed us aerial troops in close proximity, although they were a couple of thousand feet below us, and sparse in numbers. They shadowed us for a while, but finally banked and flew away in the direction of the campfires we had seen previously. It's not an immediate threat, but they know we're here and it probably won't take them long to catch up to us.
One of the niceties of flying is that you get to fly over obstacles that ordinarily you'd have to go through, or climb to get over, and it also, in this case, puts a mountain range between us and the darker forces. That, theoretically, only left their air forces which only amounted to a few Aguiva.
As we cleared the mountain range, we immediately spotted a rather large contingency of ground troops bivouacked on and around the next installation. Now I wish I hadn't said anything.
From the look of it, they outnumbered us about five to one, and this raid had started to look bleak. Nata and Famill banked sharply to the left, apparently heading for a small set of hillocks. I kept flying in the same direction. My intent was to see about leveling the playing field. I'm sure they can see me now, and I also saw Projectors being turned in my direction. A quick check of my altitude showed me I should be out of range.
"Walter, target all of the Projector stations and fire rockets when ready."
Simulations began appearing in my helmet with intersecting lines toward the targets. Then with a series of whooshing noises, the rockets launched and began heading in, over a dozen arcs toward the ground. Seconds later the scene below turned into chaos, with troops blown into the air, their bodies torn and flung about with abandon. Fireballs the size of small houses erupted where ground troops had been only moments before. The squadron I was leading dropped in low and spread out as we passed over the carnage playing out below us. Every dragon decreased altitude until they were only a few feet over the demons' heads. As if on cue, they all breathed fire as they got to the enemy's lines. The mayhem increased as demons were breaking ranks and running to get away from the dragon fire. Smoke wafted across the field and dozens of demons were thrashing about on the ground as the fire consumed them.
The dragons continued past the last of the demons' lines and landed immediately, reversing their field to attack the demons from behind. As they started slowly toward the enemy, the Hellhounds and the Chosen began jumping off of the dragons and swarming toward the demons. The ones who made it through the hordes of Hellhounds and Chosen were grabbed by the dragons and tossed around like rag dolls, to lay limp once they hit the ground.
Within minutes, the Hellhounds and the Chosen had gained entrance to the installation. Soon eggs began to appear, two at a time as the Chosen, carrying them, made their way toward the dragons.
Suddenly, from over the mountains a squadron of six Aguiva flew in low until they got to the fence line. They had only just landed, when the Warbirds turned on their riders, killing them before the demons knew what had happened.
Six of the Chosen walked over to them, and after a couple of harrowing moments, climbed on and yelled that they would fly them back to the mountain. The rest of us cheered as they took off.
It was a clean sweep with no surviving demons, but we too had lost men this time. Six of the Hellhounds and two of the Chosen had died in the attack. They were wrapped in cloth and tied to one of the dragons to be taken home.
Once the eggs had been placed in the nets, it was time to go. Two down, and only one more to go. I waited until the dragons had cleared the area before I took off, ascended to a thousand feet, and fired two rockets into what was left of the installation. Seconds later there was nothing left at all.
We flew at high altitude for about thirty minutes until we got to within two miles of the third compound. It looked like a repeat of the first raid, and I pushed forward as the dragons landed. Walter snapped screens on at about the same time as we got hit. The Projector bolt slammed into my right shoulder and stuck between the two plates that control the stabilizers, and I flipped over anti-clockwise. The vertical stabilizer on the right side of the suit reversed my flight attitude and I suddenly went upside down. I was also flying at just shy of the speed of sound, so it didn't take long to get to the ground. I slammed into the compound's main structure, and as I penetrated the roof, the shoulder rocket on the left side of the suit went off after my right gauntlet brushed the switch due to impact. The resulting explosion was spectacular and buried me in the rubble of what was left of the building. The good news was that the suit absorbed most of the explosion, and the bad news was that I was way too close to a detonation of that magnitude. The aftermath to a rocket strike is the back blast moving at multi mach speeds. In this case it took out most of the enemy troops that were close to the building and disintegrated the fence that surrounded the compound. The suit powered down right before I struck the ground, and I blacked out on impact. I woke to a familiar sound, and quite frankly I was surprised to be alive.
"Tanis, can you hear me? If you can, backup power is on line and the primary is booting presently. Tanis, please say something!"
I think that was the first time I can remember Walter sounding unsure about anything. The boy's getting more human every day.
"Hey, Walter, I'm awake now. Are the cameras offline or are we buried again?"
"We are presently buried under the rubble that was the building. After the initial impact, we were driven to the subterranean section and the first two floors caved in on us. Extricating ourselves should present no problem."
Well, that was relatively good news. We'll run some diagnostics, make sure everything's okay, and then dig our way out of here."
"Walter, do we have any systems down, I'm not showing any lights at all?"
There was a whirring sound on the right side of my helmet and the faders popped on across the heads-up display.
"All systems are now online and at a hundred percent."
"Okay, I see them. Now let's see if we can stand up."
I had no idea what was going on outside, and from my perspective it was unusually quiet. Then I had a sick, sinking feeling that I might have crushed the Aguiva eggs inside the installation. I forced myself to a standing position, shook the debris off the suit, and looked around. I was standing in what used to be the main room on the second subterranean level. Over to my left was what appeared to be a main hallway, so I walked down a few yards to reconnoiter and found Aguiva eggs. A butt load of Aguiva eggs. A feeling of relief washed over me, and I decided to go topside to show our troops what I'd found.
Climbing out proved to be easier than I thought. The rubble had caved in forming a forty-five-degree inverted funnel, and it was just a matter of working my way to the top. The scene at the ground level was not what I expected. The dragons had moved closer to the compound, but the Hellhounds and the Chosen had gathered farther off to the south and were in the progress of keeping the demons from retaking the facilities. It's just that they weren't that far away, and the riders were cool as cucumbers and acting like they had nerves of steel. These guys are amazing.
I could see Famill talking to Nata, and if I wasn't mistaken, it looked like my little alien friend was being consoled about something. I glanced around but couldn't see Fee, his grey dragon, and that's bad. I headed in that direction to see if I could help, working my way over a small field of demon bodies. I pressed a button on my gauntlet and pulled the helmet down. It felt good to have a breeze on my face.
"Where's Fee?"
Nata glanced over to his left and began pointing before he even turned around. That's when he saw me; his face lit up and he began jabbering in his language. I couldn't understand anything he said, but it sounded positive. He shifted to English, and I got that part.
"We thought you were killed. How could you have lived through that blast? I'm so glad to see you, but I don't understand how you could be alive?"
I don't think I've ever seen Nata so animated. He's such a cool little man. Famill hadn't said anything, but he stood there shaking his head.
"We saw when you got hit, Tanis. It was awful and I have to agree with Nata, I can't understand how you survived. Your suit is tougher than anyone thought. It's certainly tougher than I thought, but I would wipe it down before letting your dragon see you that way."
I looked down and chuckled cause man...I was a mess. Everything functioned, but it looked trashed. Taking a couple of steps back, I pulled the helmet up, flushed the system, reset the plates and stabilizers blowing nitrogen out of every available port. In essence it cleans all the dirt off as assuredly as if I had used a squeegee. The look on Famill's face told the whole story. Glancing down, I verified that the suit looked brand new and ready to rock. Let's hear it for technology.
"I crashed right through to the eggs, and from what I could see in there, we just hit the mother lode. Should I go help the Chosen, and the Hounds?"
Nata looked off in their direction, but shook his head, glancing back at me.
"They're about to finish up and they'll be here shortly. Jeez, take a break...you've done enough for one day."
Famill tapped me on the arm, and I glanced over to him.
"There have been rumors on the Provinces that you're immortal. Yeah, I know, but let me finish. You went a long way today in proving it, I'm just saying."
I gave him one of those patented looks of, "I am so sure" and shook my head.
"Famill, I'm not immortal, just a little harder to kill than most. The suit allows a person to function at a higher level, and they obviously think it's me doing everything. The immortality part is still not true, but it does wonders for my reputation."
The Chosen did make it back about a half an hour later and the Hounds shortly thereafter. We had lost another seven hounds and three of the Chosen. I wish this night was over.
The total count of eggs on the evening turned out to be around one hundred and sixty-five, oh, and the six adults that had already been flown back. I sure hope those guys made it.
The eggs were brought out of what was left of the building and I'm afraid my crashing into it didn't make it any easier for the Chosen who retrieved them. The place looked condemned, and bits and pieces kept crumbling making the effort somewhat hazardous. They finally got them all out, and I started getting a feeling that we weren't alone. I asked Nata and Famill to urge the rest to hurry, because I just knew we were running out of time. It was some distance to the troops we saw before, but we didn't know if they were the only ones close to us or not. I just couldn't shake that foreboding feeling, chipping away at the back of my brain. That was at about the same time that Walter confirmed my feelings.
"Tanis, there is an incoming force and at the rate of progress, they should be here within fifteen minutes. I strongly recommend we perform our egress quickly, as their personnel greatly outnumber ours."
I told Nata and Famill what Walter had said, and they swept through the ranks barking orders and urging everyone to hustle.
I could see the enemy approaching at a dead run as the dragons were taking to the air. I waited for them to be out of range, and then I fired a rocket on the first ranks of what looked like a Legion. There were more coming up from behind, but even the first one thousand would have been a problem for us. Our troops were beginning to grow fatigued and in this guy's opinion...it was time to go home.
The Legion was rolling a structure along with them and it gave me another bad feeling. It took several hundred demons to make it roll and it was getting a little too close for comfort. I had no more than given that thought credence, when the structure stopped and a dozen demons crawled over it making it look more like what it actually was, an enormous Projector. It was apparently already armed, and with the cross members now in place, it fired. The bolt was a white-hot mass of flames and blazing out of control as it approached. They weren't firing at me, but it wasn't going to miss the compound building. I watched as it slammed into what was left of the structure, and it occurred to me that they were trying to destroy the facilities to keep us from retrieving the eggs. A day late, and a buck short...numb nuts.
Two can lob stuff at each other, so I fired six rockets in a wide dispersal pattern. That would give them something to think about while I made good my escape.
I increased my altitude to about five thousand feet and was just about to turn for home, when I saw a dozen Aguivas below me heading for the retreating dragons. These Warbirds were a bit larger than most we had seen, and using the speed as a gauge, I'd say they were rested. It would take them about twenty minutes to catch the Wyverns, and although the Aguivas were a couple of thousand feet below them, we all know how this works. Tired Wyverns equals loss of altitude until they have to either land or they get shot. Our guys were a good half an hour from the river and tired, making for a bad recipe. I really don't want to shoot down dragons. Okay, one problem at a time, so first catch up to our guys and see how their doing. Second, figure out whether they'll make the river at altitude, and if they can then no problem.
I shot past the enemy's Aguivas, and they took pot shots at me with the back mounted Projectors. They would have been more accurate if they had thrown bullets and yelled bang.
When I finally caught the Wyverns, I realized they weren't going to make the river with enough altitude to keep the enemy Aguivas from firing. They were already down to two thousand feet and dropping rapidly. Not only were they dropping altitude, but they were also slowing down. Jeez, anything else. It doesn't seem fair to come this far just to blow it this close to home.I guess whatever higher source that dictates these scenarios must have felt the same way, because just as they came within range to fire, the Aguivas began to fly erratically. I'm not talking about the normal erratic now mind you, oh no, this was way off from the butterfly pattern that ordinarily denotes how they operate. This was something different. As soon as they developed the problem, three of the riders actually fell off. I'm sorry; I have zero sympathy for an evil demon, especially when they fly a dragon. The others were in part encroached upon by their brothers and summarily plucked off and dropped. In a short period of time, there were only a couple still precariously hanging on, and even they finally gave up and jumped. Then if what we had seen wasn't weird enough, the twelve Aguivas went communal and contacted the Wyverns.
The next thing I know, everyone's landing, right out in the middle of nowhere. I slowed and came to rest directly in front of what I had started thinking of as the dirty dozen. I really don't want to hurt these guys, but in all fairness, they did contact the Wyverns before they landed.
Then within the blink of an eye, twelve of the Chosen were climbing down off the dragon they originally rode in on and mounted the twelve Aguiva.
It turns out that the Wyverns weren't quite as tired as I believed and were trying to contact the Warbirds as they headed to the Styx. I'd say they were successful.
This would eventually go down as twelve in field impressions, and as a side note, it made The Ariella ecstatic. The twelve Chosen were selected because of what they were feeling when the Aguivas landed. There is no way to predict how this kind of stuff works, it just does, but those of the Chosen that were picked that night in the field had been forever changed.
I knew that The Ariella was going to be happy on one side and saddened on the other, but once a war is started it's generally not possible to get it to stop until one side is destroyed. I looked around me on the last leg of the flight and knew none of the warriors fighting for Queen Mother would ever give up. I'm proud to be one of them, and I can tell you that I will never give up until we've won or died in the attempt.
Fate was finally on our side for a change as nothing came out of the woodwork to accost us further. The Wyverns ran to gain flight, the Aguivas jumped straight up, and I activated the thrusters in my boots. Collectively we turned toward the river Styx and never slowed again until we reached Mt. Drago.
We landed in shifts, and as it turns out, we weren't the first to make it back. About half of the teams were still out, and I stood on the ramp side of the Northern Terrace to watch the dragons as they landed.
The Ariella dashed about totally absorbed in the influx of dragon eggs, and personally inspecting each and every person as they dismounted. The Terrace was full to capacity, but orderly, as the line of people made their way from the landing areas to the ramp that led to Commons. I could see Queen Mother’s face and she had been crying, probably since she got back and found that not everyone had made it back alive. The dead were being placed on a sled that sat on the ramp side and it made me sad to watch the numbers escalate. One of the Dragos said that he was surprised that the number of dead wasn't higher, but I'm not capable yet of getting to that perspective. It would have been too much if we had only lost one. That's another fact about war that I will always hate, there's always going to be casualties.
The Ariella's team was second back, and the moment she stepped off her dragon, there were already casualties on the sled. Her team suffered four deaths, and I have been made to understand that hers had less than most. She looked haggard and terribly overworked. That's beginning to be her normal look anymore.
On the upside, the night was also being looked at as a huge success. Adult Aguivas were freed, and over fifteen hundred eggs were rescued, proving that the casualties didn't die in vain. The Dark Lords suffered an enormous loss and Mt. Drago had been made infinitely better.
Hours later, and a hell of a lot of processing, the eggs had been placed in the clutch trays, the Chosen dead had been taken to Mt. Femmes, and the Hounds had taken their fallen to the river here in Mt. Drago. A mourning period was to be observed while family members spent time with the deceased. The funeral pyres had been set to be performed on different days since they were in two separate mountains, and the proceedings lasted for hours in both cases. Not surprising really, since so many had perished.
The pyres for the Hellhounds were erected in a secluded spot down at the river and burned simultaneously. Chrysalis, Ragnar, and his immediate family attended along with Queen Mother. Also, in attendance for her besides me, were Demi, Basiliskos, and Invectum. Chrysalis sat with Ragnar and consoled him while the Hounds howled their grief. Jeremy, from the Chosen stood back behind the two Hellhound leaders, head down, quietly mourning with them. After the fires had burned out, Ragnar commanded that the river take the ashes and their souls into the afterlife. Then he invited us to a party in honor of the deceased. He also told us that the identical number of births happened while his people died on the Provinces. An eerie thought, to say the least. I think they took that as some sort of good omen.
We attended the Chosen pyres the following day at the river that runs through Mt. Femmes. The families of each one that died were in attendance, and like everything else these people do, they were very quiet. Queen Mother,Demi, Basiliskos, Invectum and I stood over to one side and kept watch over the proceedings. Ragnar stood off to one side of the pyre and quietlyobserved while showing these unique people his support. All I could hear was the sound of rushing water over laced by crackling fire. It was like they weren't even breathing, and they all just stared into the flames. The biggest difference at this funeral was the gold armor that the fallen warriors had been wearing at the time of their death. Each one was visibly damaged and had been laid out on the ground to show where and how the warrior had died. Each set was to show how the man had kept his opponents in front of him, with no scarring and punctures from behind. In their society it is dishonorable to get wounded from the back. To them it would show a man retreating or possibly showing cowardice, something a Chosen would never do. All of the armored suits were in a row just in front of the burning pyre.
When it was over, Jeremy clapped his hands, and everyone stood, still looking at the remains of their vanquished loved ones. Jeremy clapped his hands again, and then everyone cheered like they had won the Olympics.
It wasn't all bad news either, since between the rest of the teams, there had been over two dozen impressions. Both the Hellhounds and the Chosen consider themselves to be warrior races. Three days after we had made it back, it was as if nothing had happened, and the two races felt vaulted. To die in battle was the highest of honors, and their fallen would be remembered in story and song for generations to come.
Just as a side note, every one of the Aguivas that had impressed in the field had successful flights back to the mountain and had been reinstituted into their culture. The advent of their bonding also had some unforeseen results, the first being an organized Chosen Squadron. After much deliberation they decided to call themselves "Veratu," which I found to be poetic and somewhat menacing. The term is a loose but misspelled version of the original vampire-oriented word Nosferatu and seems to suit them to a tee. All in all, it was a good choice, and certainly one that their culture will rally behind.
The Veratu opted for black hardened leather armor with white inlays at the shoulders. You know, for people that don't like to be called vampires, they sure do have a lot of undead inferences.
The thing I liked best about their flight suits was the emphasis at covering everything up so they could fly day missions. The suits are designed to completely encase them down to elbow length gauntlets, helmets that have leather neck pieces that fit into their jackets, and boots that slide over the tailored pants.