Written
in cooperation with Franklin Vittoe.
*****
Flying in third left rank of the patrol wing,
Cindra fumed silently over the outcome of her challenge fight against T'yren.
***
The fever had worsened greatly.
Despite the seeming improvement of earlier, Neeva's temperature
rose at an alarming rate that caused both Lysia and T'yren a great
deal of concern. They had finally found it a necessity
to move her into the bath chamber and had her soaking in ice water
to fight against the rising heat. Both of them feeling
totally helpless, Lysia and T'yren paced within the
chamber. Occasionally using magic to add more ice to the constantly
heating water around Neeva.
"Xin'Drak" Neeva mumbled in her
fevered sleep, causing both of the Dra'Keshi watching over her to
stop in mid-pace and look between her and each other with widened
eyes.
***
As the patrol wing turned for it's final pass
along the border region of the sector, Cindra watched the group of
spider ships off in the distance. The spider ships
seemed to be doing much the same as they, simply patrolling along their edge of
the border. Finally something snapped within the
dishonored female. Breaking formation, Cindra darted into range and
opened fire upon one of the Black Widow ships with her solar
breath. The unexpected attack caught the crew
unprepared, shields were not raised in time and the radiant beam
burned into the side of the spider cutting it nearly in half and
setting it aflame. The patrol Wingleader cursed and ordered Cindra back into
formation when she first moved, however she refused to
listen. Leaping into action, the other spider vessels
locked weapons and fired upon the rogue Drak. Cindra had little time
to regret her action as 3 dark beams drained the life from her
body. Even as her now lifeless form drifted off, the rest of the
Dra'Keshi wing turned to engage the spider group.
Feeling the rage within his own blood, the Wingleader could not
have halted the reaction as the entire wing broke apart and opened
fire individually upon the spiders.
The rest of the patrol group of Spiderships
saw the Drak break formation and fire, but it was too late...the
Black Widow was as good as destroyed. The lead ship's
Preistess~Commander frantically ordered the rest of the ships to
raise shields and fire. Battle was joined as the patrol sent out a
call for help.
"Attention all Spider Patrols in
Dra'Keshi/Theocracy border zone, assistance needed immediately, we
have engaged the Dra'Keshi." Several more patrols,
powered by their Faith Drives, which in this Q~Zone were unmatched
for speed, appeared and joined the fight.
***
"But that is only a myth isn't
it?" T'yren mused as he and Lysia pondered the meaning
of Neeva's feverish statement. "Most myths are based
upon fact..." Lysia reminded him as she sat upon a
chair and carefully studied her sister's face. "Forsid
would know more about it than anyone...he is the eldest living
Drak." Sending a mental contact, the Queen of Dervish opened a mindspeak to
the King of Ember.
'...would be quite powerful. It
was attempted several times but never with any success.
Odd that she should utter such. Even considering her fever
it does not seem like a coincidence to me. I shall send
Tarsha along with my journal to join you in your research. She
likely knows more of it than I, as this old mind of mine grows
foggy thinking back that far. Tarsha has been studying
the old histories extensively and could be of great assistance in
this.' Forsid responded as they ended the mental conversation.
'Many thanks old friend.' Lysia
closed and turned with a smile toward T'yren. "Tarsha
is coming for a visit." The queen explained as she
returned her attention to watching over Neeva.
T'yren was waiting on the balcony when the
FlameTalon arrived and escorted Tarsha in to where Lysia was
watching over her sister in the bath chamber. With a smile and nod
toward the queen, Tarsha sat cross-legged upon the floor and began
pulling old books and scrolls from the pack she carried.
"It was never fully
understood..." The female Drak from Ember began as she
flipped through a book and pointed out several entries. "The
training had only just started when the sage vanished mysteriously
and never returned. It says here that the old elf had explained
what was supposed to happen and instructed them on the first stage
of the casting. When he never returned to complete the
instruction it was recorded here and a few attempts were made
without any success..."
***
It was a total massacre. The
remaining 3 Dra'Keshi turned from the field where the rest of the
wing had been annihilated. Making all possible speed
toward Dervish as it was the nearest of the homeworlds, one of the two males
began to fall behind as his left wing was badly torn from a missile
detonation. The female was not much better off. One of
her eyes melted by a laser blast and her tail, still numb from a necro-phaser
hit, trailing limply behind throwing her balance off.
"Attention all Spiderships.
We will report 'No Dra'Keshi Survivors'...Repeat 'No Dra'Keshi
Survivors." Every Spidership Commander knew what that
meant. Their numbers had been reduced, but not as bad as the first
encounter. This time they had anticipated the Draks'
battle rage and used it against them, fighting with no
mercy. Several of the remaining Black Widows pulled out
ahead of the Tarantulas and closed with the wounded Dra'Keshi
survivors. There were only three. "Easy
pickings" the dr'owe aboard thought. All the Black
Widows fired their Necro Phasers simultaneously. The Dra'Keshi
were killed almost instantly, their lifeless bodies drifting
through the void. Invidia Dal'Sein, aboard one of the Black Widows,
and leader of the first patrol, sent out orders.
"All ships, return to assigned patrol routes, request for
replacements for our losses have been sent to Council of Eight. Dal'Sein
and Arachnia ships, follow me. We have a report to
make." The ships belonging to Houses Arachnia and
Dal'Sein left the sector, returning to Arach'Tuine.
***
The air grew suddenly cold
within the chamber. As if someone had flicked a switch and turned
off the heat, Neeva's fever ended suddenly and she sat up within the tub. "I
remember now. I remember how it started..."
A soothing calm flowed across the whole of the
Dra'Keshi Empire when
Neeva's fever finally broke. As the heat faded from her body, so too
did the rage vanish from within the hearts of all Draks everywhere.
Like a great sponge, the entire community began to absorb the
information that was being slowly introduced into the vast mental
network of which every Dra'Keshi was part of.
Neeva and Tarsha working closely had managed to construct a basic
premise of the entire Xin'Drak process. With input from Zylen, and
several key fragments from Forsid, the two females felt confident
that they had finally prepared a workable structure of the Xin'Drak
ritual.
Due entirely to the insights provided through Neeva's dreams, the
entire empire was now aware that the spiders which had been
encountered were merely vessels controlled from within by the "spider
elves" or "Dr'owe" as had been revealed in her visions. Likewise
known to all came the fact that the Dr'owe and Dra'Keshi lines traced
back to a connecting point which made them a kinship race despite the
rather expansive separation.
The revelation that somewhere nearer to this connecting point their
elven ancestors had created themselves, the Dra'Keshi, to be used as
a devastating weapon against the Dr'owe had been understandably
unsettling to the entire community.
Zylen had refused to pass judgment upon the current policy with
regards to the Dra'Keshi/Dr'owe conflict until more information could
be obtained. While a wealth of knowledge was being brought to light
by Neeva's continuing visions, all such information was outdated by 3
millennia and they had no current understanding of their distant kin.
The Dra'Keshi King had confirmed that the patrols within that narrow
section of territory remain as full wings, however had commanded
under penalty of death that no hostile actions be taken except in
response to attack by or intrusion of the Dr'owe.
Neeva and Tarsha, after examining and selecting 10 candidates from
the vast flood of applications they received, began to instruct the
selected group. These 10 would attempt a ritual that had not even
been thought about for well over 2500 years. The model appeared
sound and continued to gain affirmation from Neeva's visions. The
training would take quite some time and might need to be reworked
several times before any measure of success was achieved. Both of
the females pouring themselves fully into this new endeavor, were
confident that with patience and devotion the Xin'Drak could indeed
be achieved.
Lysia and T'yren, thankful for the apparent complete recovery of
Neeva and the project which now kept her occupied, found much needed
time to spend together as the time of their bonding drew near.
*****
Neeva and Tarsha took time out from their research
only long enough to
assist T'yren with a rather bold idea he had devised to gain more updated
info about the spider elves. They were joined by Lysia and five of the most
telepathically talented Dra'Keshi available.
The concept was sound and there was every confidence that the attempt would
succeed, however to what extent could only be known by trying it. T'yren
would stand within the circle formed by the other eight Dra'Keshi. Focusing
upon the mind he had felt during the skirmish, they would attempt a scrying
upon that individual and see what might be learned.
When all were gathered and ready for the casting, T'yren stood within the
center and began focusing. Moving forward when they felt the focus had been
established, the circle of Draks focused their scrying powers into T'yren.
Feeling his perception cross over time and space, images began to appear
within his mindsight. Fuzzy and out of focus at first, T'yren felt the
power added by his companions and the vision before him slowly cleared into
perfect focus.
****
A mind well guarded against mental intrusion. But the power being expended
in this spell was enough to get past the mental defenses of Prenia Arachnia.
T'yren could sense treachery and hate in this dr'owe, as well as jealousy.
Prenia was jealous of her mother's place in the House hierarchy. He could
also tell that she had been reading about the Dra'Keshi. The Dr'owe were
aware of the Xin'Drak process, though they didn't know what it was. The
Drak could also sense eagerness in the dr'owe priestess. Eagerness to meet
the Dra'Keshi again. He stumbled upon a plan of Prenia's as well. If
Prenia succeeded with this plan, her mother would not live another year.
Her mother's name is Rowen Arachnia, daughter of First Matron Phaere
Arachnia. The Drak probed a little deeper, looking for some hint as to
common dr'owe battle strategy, but there was none. The dr'owe seemed to be a
chaotic people, and everything they did reflected that. It seemed amazing
that they had what appeared to be such an ordered government. But then,
based on what he had learned so far, political intrigue was far from
uncommon. Power seemed to be the driving motivator for their society. Then
T'yren realized Prenia had become aware of the scrying. The Dr'owe
Priestess attempted to grab the mind invading hers. She got a firm grip,
but, thanks to the combined power used in the scrying, T'yren was able to
break free, but it was a struggle. Prenia then locked her mind shut and
nothing could get through.
****
Pulling his perception back to his present place and time, T'yren collapsed
exhausted to the ground and was assisted by Lysia and Neeva back to his bed
for a much-needed rest.
Neeva and Tarsha had been making great progress with their plans for
attempting the Xin'Drak ritual and notified all those who would participate
to gather within the arena at mid-morn of the following day.
At the appointed time, the volunteers were already assembled and waiting.
Neeva and Tarsha would not be taking part in the actual transformation
themselves as they needed to monitor the occurrence for further study and
perfection of the process.
According to the plans, the ten Dra'Keshi stood in a modified V formation.
One stood at point with 4 in each wing of the formation and the last
standing at center within the V. The chant was fairly simple, being only
one step above a major cantrip.
Keeping every sense they have both physical and mental trained upon the
formation, Neeva and Tarsha could feel the power building around them until
it changed suddenly and the whole group of them vanished from where they
stood as they formed in unison into a truly majestic dragon. Easily ten
times larger than even the largest and oldest Drak's natural form, the
Xin'Drak merging appeared to be a complete success.
With dismay, Neeva and Tarsha felt the coupling dissipate suddenly and all
10 of the volunteers reappeared where they had stood before.
While the process had been successful for a short time, it was obvious that
more study and experimentation would be required before being released to
the entire community. Neeva and Tarsha were pleased to find that all the
volunteers had agreed to stay on with the project.
*****
T'yren slept peacefully as his dreams replayed the
events of his look into
the spider elf empire. The female mind he had linked to was powerful.
Quite possibly much more powerful than his own in regards to psychic
potential. He would need to take great care before touching upon that one
again, the Drak's subconscious thoughts noted. He had already determined
the next target for his research into the current spider elf lifestyle.
Prenia had looked to the one known as Phaere as the leader of her people,
thus the best insights would be gained there.
Allowing his insights into that society float into the back of his
awareness, T'yren turned his thoughts toward the rather unexpected force he
had detected during his scrying.
He had felt and mentally seen the psionic stream briefly as he was
withdrawing from the scry attempt. Lying invisible to any but the most
intense of mental sensings, the line of psychic power shimmered like a
sapphire river across the vast distance of space. Recalling the brief flash
he had seen to the fore of his thoughts, T'yren studied the layout of the
psi-stream in more detail. Giving merit to the rumors that the Dra'Keshi
and Dark elves were related, the line connected each of the three Drak
homeworlds and the three worlds of the SQT Empire.
T'yren noted with interest that unlike most such lines he had seen, which
flowed in one direction from one point to another, this one flowed out from
a central point between the two empires and in turn flowed back along it's
underside to the center again. The fact that this central nexus of the
psi-stream sat dead center within the disputed zone was not lost upon
T'yren. Taking one final look at the layout, he received the odd impression
that somehow these 6 homeworlds had at one time orbited a star located where
the psi-nexus now stood.
T'yren woke the next morning and felt much restored from his activities of
the previous day. Heading over to the arena, he wrapped his arms around
Lysia from behind. The queen stood leaning against a railing watching the
current attempt to perform the Xin'Drak ritual.
"How goes the experiment?" T'yren whispered into Lysia's ear as she
clasped
his hands into hers squeezing them lightly with approval of his welcome
embrace.
"Progressing..." She responded over her shoulder. "The merging
lasted a
full hour this time. Neeva and Tarsha are confident that with the info they
have gathered from this trial they can achieve a stable merging by the
week's end."
Turning away from watching, as the enterprising Draks separated off after
the test's conclusion, Lysia fixed her bright eyes upon T'yren's and smiled.
"What of your own experiment? I sensed that it went well
yesterday..."
T'yren smiled in return and nodded affirmatively. "Quite well actually.
Not only was I able to get some valuable insight into how our dark kin
currently live, I believe I have discovered a rather significant anomaly
which supports some very ancient theories. I intend to attempt another
scrying shortly to get a second viewpoint of the spider elf society and
another look at this psi-stream, which I shall be using to provide the needed
boost for my scrying attempt. If you have no other plans for the next few
hours I would welcome the company..."
Lysia's smile was all the answer T'yren needed as the pair walked back to
their home. Upon arriving and getting comfortable, T'yren took time to
meditate and prepare for the mental journey he would soon take.
Reaching a state of complete calm and focus, the male Drak allowed his
awareness to be drawn into the flow of the psi-stream. Carried within the
flow of the stream, T'yren's perception raced across the distance in seconds
toward the focus. Not upon Prenia this time, his focus was instead upon
Phaere, with hopes of gaining a separate perspective of the current state of
the dark kin.
*****
Confidence. Cold cruelty. An utter lack of conscience. Treachery. Power,
combined with a desire for more. These were the initial impressions T'yren
got from the contact with Phaere Arachnia. Then she noticed him, and
attempted to push him out of her mind with sheer mental force.
The push came as a surprise, though not entirely unexpected. Rather than
simply drifting back to himself this time, T'yren decided to press for an
understanding of how adept his kin were in the mental talents.
Similar to a fencer testing his opponent's skill, the male Drak struck out
with a jab. Being a rather weak and low-range attack, the Dra'Keshi did not
expect any success from it, and surely enough his jab bounced harmlessly off
Phaere's mindshield.
'Not bad...' His mental comment could be heard near the edge of the
Matron's psychic defenses.
'Thanks for the compliment' Phaere's mental retort was full of sarcasm. Her
defenses were bolstered immediately even as she retaliated, sending stabs of
mental energy toward T'yren's mind.
Raising the stakes only slightly, he sent three rapid mental lances to
different sections of the defended mind. Two of them had no effect while
the third caused a slight tremor across the surface of the Dr'owe's
shielding.
'Not bad at all...'
Ensuring that he still had several protective barriers of his own in place
against counter-attack, T'yren focused a more powerful ram attack at the
center of her mindshield and felt satisfaction as it punched through. The
Dra'Keshi physically shuddered as his ram was caught by Phaere's second line
of defense. Reluctantly but of absolute necessity, the Drak sacrificed the
power of the ram to avoid being pulled into the mental twister.
Phaere's counterattack was like a coiled viper striking it's prey. She
stabbed at her opponent with what she referred to as "mental fangs".
Had
they managed to connect, the Dra'Keshi would have been left unconscious and
totally vulnerable. The Dra'Keshi was able to fend them off.
'Impressive...however...'
Drawing from reserves, T'yren created a siphon. Like a striking cobra, the
siphon latched onto the psiclone and pulled its energies into the
Dra'Keshi's control.
Phaere could feel the energies from her mental twister being pulled from
her. A look of malice crossed her features as she bared her teeth and with
a display of power, she wrenched the mental energies away from T'yren like a
spider snatches its prey. The psiclone collapsed, but Phaere still had
control. 'Very nice' she mentally told her opponent.
She was certainly a capable if not equal opponent. T'yren mused as he
sensed the surface of Phaere's mental tower behind where the psiclone had
been. Pouring more energy into his last remaining defense, the
triple-layered psi-globe shimmered with power.
'The Dra'Keshi certainly are formidable' Phaere's mental compliment
registered. She knew that for her to win this battle could take an
extremely long time. T'yrene's psychic prowess was amazing. No wonder
Prenia admitted he was a match, and more, for her. Phaere simply did not
have time to continue this fight. With a powerful push of psionic energies,
Phaere attempted to force T'yren's mind away from her. She was successful,
but she had the feeling that it was her opponent who had retreated, by
choice, not because of her psychic push.
T'yren allowed his perception to slip back into the powerful current of the
psi-stream as he broke off from the conflict with his capable opponent.
The fight had been a near stalemate which surprised him, however it had been
refreshing to find such a challenge in one not of his kind.
Phaere called Prenia to her office, and the two began to study the psychic
anomaly which both of them had noticed in their psionic encounters with the
Dra'Keshi.
*****
Back within himself, T'yren opened his eyes and noted that Lysia had closed
the curtains of their dwelling during his mental voyage and was lying upon
the bed beside him with that familiar look in her eyes.
Pleased to find that the psi-stream had functioned to prevent him from being
physically drained by the encounter, the male Drak smiled down upon his love
and leaned in for a passionate kiss. Vowing to carefully study the
encounter later, T'yren locked it all away so that his full attention could
be focused upon 'other matters'.
*****
T'yren's mind was dwelling upon what he had
experienced with the Psi-streams
and his conflict with Phaere. Arranging a time to speak with Neeva and
Tarsha, none to easy considering their current devotion to the Xin'Drak
experiment, he hoped to piece together a better understanding.
Between what Neeva had learned from her visions and Tarsha's extensive
research into the Dra'Keshi past, they were able to assemble a sound and
accurate recreation.
An'Drax and Wintevi had not been settled prior to the Cataclysm however they
had both been under minimal Dra'Keshi influence. The order to avoid the
three worlds controlled by the spider elves had been obeyed without
incident. The creators had never returned to further instruct them on this
matter and then the Cataclysm had severed all ties with those the Dra'Keshi
had been born to destroy.
When clans FlameTalon and SheerWing left Heartstone they had felt drawn to
the two worlds that had remained near to Heartstone. With the creation of
Valik's rite of Solo Combat, An'Drax had ceased to be a penal planet and was
settled by FlameTalon. The old prison caverns had been sealed and Magnis
was built atop them as the capital of planet which was renamed to Ember in
honor of the Drak who had founded the FlameTalons.
At around the same time Lysia and her followers had colonized Wintevi under
the new name of Dervish. The planet had been found acceptable as a second
homeworld prior to the Cataclysm that had halted those plans at the time.
T'yren had revisited the most ancient corridors on Heartstone and found
supporting diagrams etched into the walls showing the Origin system. The
diagram included a 7th planet, which had been lost to knowledge following the
Cataclysm that had formed the systems each of the remaining 6 planets now
existed within.
Upon returning to Dervish, T'yren slipped into meditation and studied the
psi-streams without allowing his awareness to be drawn into them. He was
unable to determine the reason, however the Dra'Keshi could feel a great
strain upon the streams connected with the two systems that were most
distant from the Psi-Nexus.
Returning to himself, T'yren spent some time with Lysia. Noting that he
seemed distant and preoccupied, the SheerWing queen asked her soon to be
mate about what was bothering him.
"We were created for a task..." T'yren began after a long pause.
"It
bothers me that we were used in such a way. Should we then simply follow
the will of our creators without question? It does not feel... Right. We
are more than a simple weapon to be used for a cause that no longer exists.
I just don't like it and I for one will not be a pawn in some long forgotten
game..."
"I feel as you do my love, and shall discuss this with Zylen in depth.
However he is king and has right to decide how we as a race shall proceed in
relation with the spider elves. If it becomes Zylen's wish that we attack
our ancient kin...will you follow the command?" Lysia responded softly.
T'yren nodded silently, however the pained look upon his handsome elven
features gave little support to his affirmation.
The latest test of the Xin'Drak ritual was underway by the time Lysia
arrived to observe. Neeva and Tarsha flanked her on either side and the
queen could feel their anticipation at the hopeful result of this test.
As they had done each time before, the volunteers gathered into the
appropriate formation. One change had been made a short time back, which
placed Lin'naae at the center of the formation, a position that had been
designated as commander of the Xin'Drak form.
As the magnificent dragon formed from the merging of the 10 chanting
Dra'Keshi, the three observers could feel its power and grace as the
immense dragon beat it's wings and soared ever higher into the skies above.
Lin'naae could feel the power of the form around her and directed her
"body"
to rise out of the planet's atmosphere. The test now called for them, as
the Xin'Drak, to make a quick flight around all three systems of the empire
and end with some target practice upon a lifeless asteroid.
The flight around the homeworlds took much less time than had been
estimated. Stretching it's great wings Xin'Drak Lin'naae, which was the
designation this new form had been given, made the full circuit of the
homeworlds in just over an hour. Much faster than any other Drak in normal
draconic form had been capable. It took Lin'naae a while to become
accustomed to the way this new shape of their combined selves performed,
however she gradually became more comfortable with it and issued the mental
wish to breath upon the target asteroid.
Similar to the feeling Lin'naae experienced, the Dra'Keshi who had been at
point of the formation felt the command directed upon him and it took a
short while for him to become accustomed to the action. Finally the breath
issued forth from the great dragon's maw and impacted upon the distant chuck
of rock with a force that vaporized it entirely.
Upon returning to the Dervish Arena and returning to their individual selves
at Lin'naae's command rather than being forced out of the shape as had
occurred several times prior, the team of Dra'Keshi all cheered happily at
the success. As reward for their efforts and bravery in this experiment,
Lysia promoted the entire group into military service as a specialized team.
Following the end of the day's testing, the group of excited Draks headed
off together for a much-deserved celebration of the achievement, which began
a new era for the Dra'Keshi.
Turning together, Neeva and Tarsha began making plans for a follow-up test
exercise that would involve performing the ritual while in space.
Theoretically the combining should be identical from either elven or dragon
form, yet both of them wanted to make absolutely certain that they had
explored all the avenues before releasing the knowledge to the entire
community.
*****
Meanwhile, on the distant planet of Ember.
Seldak rose from his long slumber with an evil cast to his spectral eyes.
All was dark around him, yet he did not see in a mortal way anymore. The
time had come for vengeance. Floating silently through the sealed caverns
of his prison, the ghostly spirit reached out to his followers. 500 of them
beside himself had joined in the ritual which preserved their spirits long
after their mortal forms had become dust.
'The time has come my brothers and sisters!' Seldak's spirit called to the
many spirits around him.
'Our living kin shall soon feel the pain they so cruelly inflicted upon us.
Clan SpiritFang shall bare it's teeth at last...'
Seldak floated silently before the arrayed gathering
of Dra'Keshi spirits
before him.
How greatly he wished to pour his anger and hate out upon Valik who had
exiled him to An'Drax so very long ago. Knowing that was an impossibility,
the SpiritFang leader consoled himself with the thought that he could at the
least have revenge upon Valik's children.
The five hundred spirits who looked to him as leader would remain loyal to
the last. He had promised them vengeance and the opportunity to strike back
at those who had sentenced them to death. Had any mortal been able to hear
the supporting cheers of Seldak's followers, the sound of it would have
chilled their blood to the core.
Unfettered by physical forms, the horde of Clan SpiritFang roared through
the ancient sealed tunnels of their prison toward the surface where they
would at long last get the pleasure of feasting upon the life of the
descendants of their jailors.
*****
Forsid sat restlessly upon his throne. The day felt wrong to him somehow.
He could not place the feeling, just that he felt uneasy as if something bad
were about to happen.
The sense of an evil presence and death struck the ancient Dra'Keshi several
moments before the reports began to arrive. An injured Dra'Keshi warrior
stumbled into his audience chamber, his left arm hanging withered and
useless at his side where ghostly claws had raked deep into his flesh. The
wounded elf managed to deliver his report that the village of Tillenti had
been overrun by a horde of spectral minions, some of whom had been
recognized as criminals sent to this world back when it had been a prison
planet.
Several other reports arrived both mentally and by survivors from many of
the other smaller cities across the planet. For the time being, the undead
Draks appeared to only be striking the most remote and sparsely populated
areas, however Forsid was certain this conflict would not end there.
Sending a mental alert to all of the habitants of Ember, the FlameTalon
leader called for all Dra'Keshi who were able to gather at the capital.
Mages were dispatched throughout the city to erect shielding which would
hopefully be able to hold back the spectral Draks.
Moving into the council chamber, Forsid sent a brief communication to king
Zylen detailing the situation. When enough of his commanders had arrived to
begin the meeting, the war council of Ember began to discuss the options for
defending against this unexpected assault.
'For the time being...' Forsid mentally suggested when Zylen opened a
connection to him. 'I regretfully advise that Ember be quarantined so that
none leave the planet. I am unsure if these spirits are able to travel the
distance to the other homeworlds. If they are not capable of space flight I
do not wish to risk having them hitch along with anyone leaving here. I
must sadly instruct that any Dra'Keshi leaving the vicinity of Ember be
considered rogue and terminated immediately.'
Zylen acknowledged Forsid's observations and remorsefully agreed with the
ancient Drak's decision. The king activated a large portion of both the EV
and SW clan forces to curtain the area around Ember in a patrol net with
orders to attack anyone leaving the planet.
Lysia extended her sorrow at this turn of events and offered full support
from SheerWing clan towards resolving the matter.
With Ember effectively sealed off from the rest of the empire, Forsid turned
his full attention toward dealing with the unnatural threat before them.
All told, the reports indicated that roughly 3000 Dra'Keshi had fallen to
the surprise attack and not one of the enemies could be counted among the
dead. Except for a few who had either refused to leave their homes or were
for one reason or another unable to reach Magnis, nearly all the population
of Ember had been accounted for. The capital, designed to house 14,000
comfortably, was near bursting with the over 45,000 Dra'Keshi currently
sheltering within it's walls.
While overcrowding was a definite concern, the major issues were defense
against the spectral foes and food. Being unable to leave the planet, the
Dra'Keshi would have no access to the Farble herds on the grassland planets.
Somehow Zylen had already anticipated that problem and had mobilized a large
portion of the non-military populace from both Heartstone and Dervish to
begin dropping bundles of freshly killed meat to the besieged people of
Ember. It took several failed attempts to get the proper positioning
accurate before the bundles began to drift down to the waiting Draks within
Magnis.
Thankful that the food situation was at least moderately under control,
Forsid and his commanders turned to the more present danger of the
SpiritFangs and how to combat them. The unanswered question which continued
to arise being. How do you kill that which is already dead?
*****
The siege was not going well. Forsid studied the
diagrams with
disappointment as he saw the inevitable conclusion to the threat
before him.
Clan SpiritFang, as reports had it they were calling themselves, had
encircled Magnis within a constricting ring, which was tightening down
upon the living Dra'Keshi without quarter or pause.
The people of Ember had been forced to fall back twice now, being
packed even more tightly near the center of the capital, as the
undead Draks had found ways through the magical barriers formed by
the mages. Hundreds had fallen to slow the spectral foes while the
rest regrouped deeper within Magnis.
Now, with nowhere else to go, the living Dra'Keshi stood firm to face
what would likely be their final stand.
And then without explanation the assault stopped abruptly. The
undead had not departed entirely, Forsid could still feel them
gathered a distance away within one of the cities they had devastated
earlier.
*****
"Have you forgotten what they did to us?" Seldak fumed. "You
would
not be here now if they had not sentenced you to the same honorless
death which was forced upon us all..."
"You go too far!" Alyndra countered unswayed.
Having watched the madness with which Seldak was killing every living
Dra'Keshi they came upon, she had finally had enough of his mindless
vengeance and taken a stand against his leadership.
With the support of over a third of the undead Dra'Keshi, Alyndra had
challenged Seldak as he stood on the brink of destroying the entire
civilization on Ember.
"Coward!" The SpiritFang leader spat as he faced the rival spectral
female within a deserted city some distance from the capital. "If
you have not the nerve for this then perhaps you should depart to the
spirit realm and leave this matter to those of us with the will to
carry it out."
"A coward would not be here defying you now would one?" Alyndra
rebuffed, showing no fear in the face of the undead Drak's hostile
posture. "No! I am not a coward by disputing your pointless
attack. However I do have a soul, something of which you seem
lacking. Hatred has consumed you and there is naught of Dra'Keshi
left within the shade I see before me now. You are an empty shell of
rage and nothing more, I for one will not follow such a THING!"
The spectral female's words seemed to stir something within Seldak's
supporters and many of them moved to stand with Alyndra so that the
numbers became a near even split, with each of the two prominent
spirits holding support over half of the original number.
A faint light flickered within the female's eyes as she struck the
final blow in this verbal battle. "If you wish to destroy our living
kin, you will have to get past us first!"
Amidst ghostly cheers of agreement, Alyndra's supporters followed her
as they floated off silently to encircle Magnis, this time not to
destroy but rather to defend.
"So be it!" Seldak cursed at the departing group's back. Things had
taken an unsettling turn and he was hesitant to throw his full force
against Alyndra and her followers. His main target was the family of
Valik, those who shared a direct bloodline back to his ancient
nemesis. None of that line would be found here, and while Forsid was
a tempting victory the greater pleasure would be in slaughtering
Valik's line on Heartstone.
*****
Forsid was startled when the mental connection brushed upon his mind,
it was unlike any other he had ever felt and suddenly he realized
that one of the undead was politely requesting communication.
Allowing the connection, the FlameTalon leader listened carefully to
what Alyndra explained of the situation, however he remained cautious
that this may be some sort of trick or deception.
Responding that he and his people were appreciative of her noble
action, yet they would not release the magical barriers simply on
words alone.
The spectral female expressed understanding and assured that no
offense was taken by that prudent decision.
Following the advice of Alyndra, Forsid did order his mages to push
the magical barriers back out to the edge of the city and fortified
them in the ways that Alyndra had revealed would better protect
against another spectral assault.
Somewhere deep inside, Forsid felt he could trust this female
completely, however his caution remained as many lives were at stake
should his impression be incorrect.
*****
Leaving 50 of his loyal forces on Ember to monitor and keep him
informed of the situation there, Seldak and the rest of his force
departed from their ancient prison. Slipping easily through the
patrol net around Ember, the spirits killed the few living Dra'Keshi
they encountered and made full speed for Heartstone before the rest
of the net could react to the escape.
Like a silent, deadly mist. The forces of SpiritFang, still 200
strong, raced toward Valik's Keep where they would taste the sweet
fruits of the revenge they had waited so long to partake of...
*****
The small group left behind by Seldak were sorely
unprepared for the storm that fell upon them following the departure of their
leader.
Sensing the absence of the evil Dra'Keshi spectre,
Alyndra marshaled her loyal followers in preparation to eliminate the small contingent
that had been left behind on Ember.
In a show of faith, Forsid had sent a small force of
mages to aid in purging this evil from his home.
Even as the strike force departed from Magnis,
Forsid quickly contacted Zylen to inform him of the immanent threat to
Heartstone and included what he had learned thus far as tactics for defending
against the non-corporal spirits.
Following the advice of Alyndra, the living
Dra'Keshi mages had prepared a variety of energy based spells which the
honorable female spirit felt certain could cause harm to their insubstantial
forms.
Despite the surprise of the assault and Seldak's
group being vastly outnumbered, the fight still took quite some time. In
the end the evil spirits were all banished, however had succeeded in taking
their equal in numbers with them to the spirit realm.
Quickly communicating back to Forsid which spells
had been most effective against the undead Draks, the mixed group of living and
spectral Dra'Keshi returned as one back to Magnis. It was a small victory
to be certain, yet a victory nonetheless.
Providing his king with this newly acquired
information, Forsid offered any further support that he could provide in
helping deal with the threat.
Knowing that she and her followers were best suited
to combat Seldak and his minions, Alyndra selected 100 of her loyal group to
remain at Ember in case Seldak turned back. With the rest of her group
following closely behind, Alyndra made all possible speed toward Heartstone to
aid in the fight that was sure to be raging by the time they arrived.
Forsid was not about to deny the request as all the
mages who had joined the female spirit to battle the small group asked for the
honor to join the battle upon Heartstone as well.
With their leader's blessing the group of Dra'Keshi
mages made haste to catch-up with their departing spectral kin. All
within Alyndra's group including the addition of the mages who joined them in
flight understood that this would quite likely be the last flight they took,
however knowing that if they could at the least stop or reduce Seldak and
his troop enough the others would stand a much better chance for survival.
*****
Seldak felt an odd thrill as he and the rest of the
SpiritFangs began to descend toward the capital of Heartstone. They had
encountered only minimal resistance and dealt with the few defenders they met
quickly and efficiently.
The ancient undead Dra'Keshi was about to order a
full assault when something unexpected and unfamiliar brushed against his
awareness.
She was not Dra'Keshi, which was obvious.
Something in her manner however struck the spectre as being intriguing and he
ordered his clan to hold position while he paused to hear what this female of
differing elven descent would tell him...