Koron walked into his war room and sat down at the round onyx table; his
advisors and generals surrounded him. In the middle of the table was a
crystal ball with a fuzzy hint of light inside of it and across the table
sat a mage dressed in red. His dusty blonde hair almost the exact same
shade as Arign's.
"Now, that mission was a complete failure I thought I had her." Koron plopped his head in his palms his eyes scanning everyone. "What news do you bring from Lloverden, please tell me it is good news." His face seemed to harden slowly as no one spoke up. He sighed heavily then raised his head and stared coldly at them all. "Damit! Can't anyone tell me anything?" His fist hit the table with a thud and the mage jumped as the crystal rattled.
"Lord, Lloverden was a success in destroying it." A grand general from Koron's strongest army stood and spoke. "But not to disappoint you to much the amulet was not recovered."
"What the hell, it was in Elaina's chambers, I told you morons where it was!"
"We looked sir." The general sat down.
"Donovan what can we do?"
"My lord." He touched the amulet around his neck the same one as Elaina, his voice echoing though the hall sounding like Arign's. "I may be the older brother to Arign and Elaina may be my love---." Silent laughter filled the room. "But I believe her power may not be stoppable, I have a feeling the gods are among us again." He lowered his head in disgrace. "Her magic grows with every step she takes." Koron ripped the blade from his pocket and threw it across the table.
"That's her blood, and she ripped it out of her neck without wincing in pain." Then he ripped off his fine black silk shirt only to reveal bruises and a large scrape down the middle of his chest. Everyone seemed to gasp. "And you now tell me her magic is unstoppable this is unbelievable!" he looked down to his chest then closed his shirt covering his flesh as his face fumed a deep scarlet.
"The spell is actually called riposte. It's a shockwave spell my lord, gods and goddesses only have access to it." He sighed again. "After all these centuries she is finally a goddess I seem to be proud of her." He mumbled Koron only catching a few words here and there luckily missing the part of 'proud of her.'
"In the morning we go to Green Temple, I suggest you bring all your men there tonight and hide in the forests on the north side, the dragons will be used last. And I want a company to go back to the Temple of White and search for it, The amulet is in there some where I know it. Koron stood and everyone followed in pursuit. "Dismissed, and Donovan I would like to speak to you in private so don't move." Everyone bowed and slowly filed out of the room. Once everyone was out Koron's face stretched into a frown.
"Sir, is everything alright?" Koron didn't reply right away but fumbled with his hair.
"Donovan I want you to do something." He looked to the other side of the room where a large mural of flames incased in black hung from the gray wall.
"And what might that be sir?"
"Kill her." He said plainly not looking at the astrologer but continued to stare at the flames.
"What." Donovan stepped back his mouth dropping instantly to the floor. Koron swiftly turned his face twisted into a smile, his hands where placed behind his back and he seemed to hover over Donovan.
"I want you to kill her, the gods will be on our side now that they know she is weak." Koron laughed and stormed out of the room thinking the plan was all high and powerful. Donovan stood there a moment listening to wax from the candles drip to the floor he rubbed his hands over his face then stepped out of the room dragging the crystal ball from a magical thread, the wooden doors shut cutting off the thread of magic and the ball dropped and shattered to the floor as the doors bolted behind him and the candles were instantly distinguished.
"Elaina." Taiss stopped her by pulling her arm and holding the girls fast walk to a stop. She didn't turn to look at the mage but stood there looking plainly into the distance. "I have been walking the wrong way, we need to go to the Tower of Blue."
"Humans should learn their rightful names of the towers but human please keep calling it The Tower of Blue to suit your wishes." She still didn't turn to face him and there was a hint of change in her strong voice. "We or at least I am not going to the Tower of "blue" because I need to go to the "green." The names of the colors seemed to be used sarcastically. "There is someone I need to find before they destroy the temple."
"But what about my mission?"
"And what matter is it if all the temples are going to be destroyed and everyone killed. You ask me about your mission and I ask you about my legacy."
Taiss didn't know what to say but Elaina could change back anytime now to the loving girl he had known before and whom he started to find irresistible. "Well then let us go?" Taiss stepped off in the direction Elaina was heading anyways hoping in due time she would change back and then he could continue his mission. But he thought for a moment while walking steadily with Elaina that was his mission anything compared to her legacy? He could fail a million times and always try again but she would lead a new life. He started believe he should put her life first then he decided that's what he would do. Elaina even saw it coming, the temple would be destroyed and it doesn't matter because everyone would die but this is the life Elaina wants to end. Every time Taiss looks at her he sees the pain that she doesn't want to keep living this way.
Elaina walked steadily on, she was wondering if she would get there before nightfall so she could get into the city from the northern woods before the armies camped them. She thought of Taiss and teleporting but it was no use, she had to do this on her own, and she didn't really feel like dealing with a petty human and his silly magic.
Taiss continued to walk without saying anything. Every once and a while he would let his hand float over to hers and it would brush it gently before she would snap away and hide her hand in her cloak. He was getting sick of her attitude but he figured it was just a phase and the magic and spread further into her soul. In a matter of a few months she could easily be dead. Taiss grabbed her right shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist and bent her into a dip and kissed her right on the lips. Her eyes closed then flickered open to the original emerald colored saucers that Taiss knew. Her hair fell over his arm that was across her shoulder and seemed to bounce back into the soft silky curls that he loved running his fingers though. Her body became limp and she rested all the weight on his arms as he slowly laid her on the ground. Her eyes closed and lips rested together, her pulse slow and hidden deep within her flesh. Taiss sighed he had accomplished bringing her back, but now she was too weak to go anywhere. The magic she worked had taken so much energy and the gods blessed her with their godlike makeup until love takes over. Taiss sat down on the ground his black robes organized around his knees he watched her chest heave slowly up and down in steady rhythmic patterns. Night quickly fell the starless night seemed to make Taiss comfortable. He started a small fire without any twigs but the fire burned in the palm of his hand easily and it shone unsteadily like a wax candle. Taiss was growing bored watching her so he curled up in his own robes and extinguished the fire and lay next to Elaina his body wrapped closely around hers so he could keep her warm from his own body heat. It was around three in the morning when Taiss woke up suddenly. He looked around eyeing that Elaina was still sleeping peacefully. There was a cough from behind him and he jolted upright and saw in the shadows a woman wearing deep reds with gold bells, rings, tassels and beads. She had a small bag that was slung around her shoulder and her rather long black hair was decorated with beads. The large bell attached to the end of her long hemmed skirt jingled softly as she bent down over Elaina her soft brown sandals pushing into the dirt of the diminutive path. Taiss fluttered his eyes open even further wondering where the hell she came from. She rummaged though her bag only to pull a rock from it and she placed it on Elaina's forehead pushing Taiss out of the way without saying anything. The rock glowed red a moment matching the hue of the woman's clothing then dimmed back to the black rock. The woman picked up the rock and shoved it back in her bag and shook it roughly to get the rock to the bottom then smiled in bliss. "She will come around don't worry about it lad." The woman stood and tapped Taiss under the chin then on top of the head as she started to walk past instantly dimming in the shadows the bell jingling softly then she disappeared. Taiss reached out to grab her to say something but she had already gone. He cocked his head a little in puzzlement then looked down to Elaina, the glow of her body dim in the dark morning. Her hand moved over slightly and it rubbed up against his.
"Payerrod is the goddess of healing, don't worry who she was, she keeps secrets very well." Elaina sent Taiss a faded mental note and he instantly felt comforted that there was life inside the girl. He felt her forehead and her fever had gone down and her heartbeat was more evident then it was earlier. "I suppose the gods and goddesses will see much of me since I am turning into one of them." She tried to sound a little perky but her strength level was so low.
"Perhaps." He smiled down to her his northern accent getting the best of him, but he knew she heard him before she drifted back into sleep. It was around noon that morning when Elaina finally woke up her heart full of energy then she realized what she had done.
"Damn you Taiss." She cursed his name as she looked up over the small clearing seeing smoke rise into the first blue sky since the beginning of that moon. "Damn kiss I could have stopped it, they have the Earth Charm." She sighed heavily. "You think you could get us into the city?"
"Probably, but do you really think they attacked that early in the morning?"
"No doubt, I just hope everything isn't destroyed yet." She bent her head a little, the red curls brushing her cheeks. Taiss stepped behind her pulling her hair back then placing his hands on her shoulders, she reached up with her own hand and grabbed his. Light blasted from the trees shrouding her vision half of radiance and half of hours of darkness it was if she had been staring at the blaze of a candle to long and then it was smothered out and she could still make out the trace of light still imprinted in her mind.
"You have to close your eyes when I do that Elaina, remember?" Taiss laughed as she stumbled backwards to regain her vision. "We are near the southern gate, the northern one isn't in existence anymore."
She looked over the edge a little bit in which she could see the city where the green temple once stood. Now it was only piles of rock covered with green moss that was dieing to an awful yellow brown color. She frowned then grabbed Taiss and pulled him down with her to the gate.
"You shouldn't go marching in there looking like that." Taiss suggested pulling a different black robe from his back and quickly changing his.
"Fine." Elaina thought of something she could summon up and once she found something in her mind that interested her she picked it and her dress changed.
"Jeesh your like a total knockout, Eli why don't you do that more often?"
"I always forget about it." She shrugged and looked down at ther outfit. The short rather tight green skirt with a blue top that had a very low 'v' neckline that went down to her navel. With gold 'x' ties all the way up. She had black bangles around both wrists, her hair actually down to her shoulders and not up in a tie. Her boots were black as well and went up below her knee and they had a blue and green tassel hanging of the black laces.
"Your staff hun." Taiss was worried everyone would recognize it. She nodded and gave it a grim look instantly turning it to a sword. The hilt was blue as was the metal of the sword itself; the steel twisted around creating intricate patterns in the metal, almost giving it a astronomical feel. Taiss and Elaina nodded in approval and walked into the gate that was still standing only because of wooden poles.
"Halt, names please, and business here." A guard stepped out from the shadows of the gate.
"Its not your business to know about us." Elaina kept walking her sword (a.k.a staff) hung slightly at her waist. The guard grabbed her arm and she clamped his wrist and thrust him forward flinging him to the ground. "I warned you." She walked on Taiss's eyes got as big as potatoes as he saw the guard weighed almost twice as much as her. The guard stood and scurried up the street hidden in the shadows heading toward headquarters where the lord was awaiting information regarding any suspicious characters.
"My Lord, a girl and a young mage have entered the city." He stood panting at the doorway looking at Koron who sat at a table with a candle and a letter. He looked up. "Bring the girl to me unharmed, kill the man." He resumed looking at his paper as the guard left. Koron sighed and held the paper over the candled flame and the corner caught fire instantly and the manuscript was gone a moment later. "Donovan you might be off the hook this time." Koron stood and stepped outside holding the door handle with his left hand. "If anyone comes with the girl, take her and I want you to bring her to me." He turned and shut the door it closing with a click. Donovan closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, at the moment he was invisible but Koron had felt his presence earlier. He sighed and his body became visible and he sat down on a chair close to the hearth and looked into the flames.
"You bastard!" Elaina kicked a guard in the stomach. There was about eight of them trying to get a hold of her and about six after Taiss.
"It's orders miss, please just cooperate." A rather tall guard loomed over her and seized her wrists binding them with metal bracelets, she screamed again and Taiss still struggled against his own problems but saw her being pushed away her face drawn in a frown before everything went black. Elaina walked her eyes closed and head bowed looking to the ground. She kept shifting her hands in the bindings behind her back. A Guard opened a door and pushed Elaina into the room causing her to sprawl face first to the floorboards at Donovan's feet. Her hair covered her tear-streaked face and she didn't look up.
"Dismissed." His voice was soft as all eight guards clomped out of the building. "Well, well, look what some buckets of bolts brought in." Donovan bent down and grabbed her chin thrusting it up to meet his stare. Her locks of red curls were pushed backwards but her eyes remained closed. "We will have to put you in new robes before we meet the Lord." Elaina forced her chin out of his grasp and her outfit returned to the blue and green robes she was destined to wear. Her sword that had clattered to the floor some feet away modified into her staff. "Never mind the robes. Stand up." Elaina sat there looking at the floor. "I said Stand up." She remained in the same position not moving. "Get up DAMIT." He grabbed her arm and thrust her up pulling her to his side and shoved her out the door leaving her staff in the room. A light snow had started falling and Elaina moved with the same step as Donovan's but opened her eyes to see a frosted street with six dead guards and a puddle of red blood and a black robe. They walked for several minutes not saying anything until they reached a black building, a preserved one from the fire that had destroyed the rest of the town. Koron sat on a couch talking to one of his generals about the next move, the green amulet rested on a cushion in the middle of the table. "My lord."
"Now, that mission was a complete failure I thought I had her." Koron plopped his head in his palms his eyes scanning everyone. "What news do you bring from Lloverden, please tell me it is good news." His face seemed to harden slowly as no one spoke up. He sighed heavily then raised his head and stared coldly at them all. "Damit! Can't anyone tell me anything?" His fist hit the table with a thud and the mage jumped as the crystal rattled.
"Lord, Lloverden was a success in destroying it." A grand general from Koron's strongest army stood and spoke. "But not to disappoint you to much the amulet was not recovered."
"What the hell, it was in Elaina's chambers, I told you morons where it was!"
"We looked sir." The general sat down.
"Donovan what can we do?"
"My lord." He touched the amulet around his neck the same one as Elaina, his voice echoing though the hall sounding like Arign's. "I may be the older brother to Arign and Elaina may be my love---." Silent laughter filled the room. "But I believe her power may not be stoppable, I have a feeling the gods are among us again." He lowered his head in disgrace. "Her magic grows with every step she takes." Koron ripped the blade from his pocket and threw it across the table.
"That's her blood, and she ripped it out of her neck without wincing in pain." Then he ripped off his fine black silk shirt only to reveal bruises and a large scrape down the middle of his chest. Everyone seemed to gasp. "And you now tell me her magic is unstoppable this is unbelievable!" he looked down to his chest then closed his shirt covering his flesh as his face fumed a deep scarlet.
"The spell is actually called riposte. It's a shockwave spell my lord, gods and goddesses only have access to it." He sighed again. "After all these centuries she is finally a goddess I seem to be proud of her." He mumbled Koron only catching a few words here and there luckily missing the part of 'proud of her.'
"In the morning we go to Green Temple, I suggest you bring all your men there tonight and hide in the forests on the north side, the dragons will be used last. And I want a company to go back to the Temple of White and search for it, The amulet is in there some where I know it. Koron stood and everyone followed in pursuit. "Dismissed, and Donovan I would like to speak to you in private so don't move." Everyone bowed and slowly filed out of the room. Once everyone was out Koron's face stretched into a frown.
"Sir, is everything alright?" Koron didn't reply right away but fumbled with his hair.
"Donovan I want you to do something." He looked to the other side of the room where a large mural of flames incased in black hung from the gray wall.
"And what might that be sir?"
"Kill her." He said plainly not looking at the astrologer but continued to stare at the flames.
"What." Donovan stepped back his mouth dropping instantly to the floor. Koron swiftly turned his face twisted into a smile, his hands where placed behind his back and he seemed to hover over Donovan.
"I want you to kill her, the gods will be on our side now that they know she is weak." Koron laughed and stormed out of the room thinking the plan was all high and powerful. Donovan stood there a moment listening to wax from the candles drip to the floor he rubbed his hands over his face then stepped out of the room dragging the crystal ball from a magical thread, the wooden doors shut cutting off the thread of magic and the ball dropped and shattered to the floor as the doors bolted behind him and the candles were instantly distinguished.
"Elaina." Taiss stopped her by pulling her arm and holding the girls fast walk to a stop. She didn't turn to look at the mage but stood there looking plainly into the distance. "I have been walking the wrong way, we need to go to the Tower of Blue."
"Humans should learn their rightful names of the towers but human please keep calling it The Tower of Blue to suit your wishes." She still didn't turn to face him and there was a hint of change in her strong voice. "We or at least I am not going to the Tower of "blue" because I need to go to the "green." The names of the colors seemed to be used sarcastically. "There is someone I need to find before they destroy the temple."
"But what about my mission?"
"And what matter is it if all the temples are going to be destroyed and everyone killed. You ask me about your mission and I ask you about my legacy."
Taiss didn't know what to say but Elaina could change back anytime now to the loving girl he had known before and whom he started to find irresistible. "Well then let us go?" Taiss stepped off in the direction Elaina was heading anyways hoping in due time she would change back and then he could continue his mission. But he thought for a moment while walking steadily with Elaina that was his mission anything compared to her legacy? He could fail a million times and always try again but she would lead a new life. He started believe he should put her life first then he decided that's what he would do. Elaina even saw it coming, the temple would be destroyed and it doesn't matter because everyone would die but this is the life Elaina wants to end. Every time Taiss looks at her he sees the pain that she doesn't want to keep living this way.
Elaina walked steadily on, she was wondering if she would get there before nightfall so she could get into the city from the northern woods before the armies camped them. She thought of Taiss and teleporting but it was no use, she had to do this on her own, and she didn't really feel like dealing with a petty human and his silly magic.
Taiss continued to walk without saying anything. Every once and a while he would let his hand float over to hers and it would brush it gently before she would snap away and hide her hand in her cloak. He was getting sick of her attitude but he figured it was just a phase and the magic and spread further into her soul. In a matter of a few months she could easily be dead. Taiss grabbed her right shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist and bent her into a dip and kissed her right on the lips. Her eyes closed then flickered open to the original emerald colored saucers that Taiss knew. Her hair fell over his arm that was across her shoulder and seemed to bounce back into the soft silky curls that he loved running his fingers though. Her body became limp and she rested all the weight on his arms as he slowly laid her on the ground. Her eyes closed and lips rested together, her pulse slow and hidden deep within her flesh. Taiss sighed he had accomplished bringing her back, but now she was too weak to go anywhere. The magic she worked had taken so much energy and the gods blessed her with their godlike makeup until love takes over. Taiss sat down on the ground his black robes organized around his knees he watched her chest heave slowly up and down in steady rhythmic patterns. Night quickly fell the starless night seemed to make Taiss comfortable. He started a small fire without any twigs but the fire burned in the palm of his hand easily and it shone unsteadily like a wax candle. Taiss was growing bored watching her so he curled up in his own robes and extinguished the fire and lay next to Elaina his body wrapped closely around hers so he could keep her warm from his own body heat. It was around three in the morning when Taiss woke up suddenly. He looked around eyeing that Elaina was still sleeping peacefully. There was a cough from behind him and he jolted upright and saw in the shadows a woman wearing deep reds with gold bells, rings, tassels and beads. She had a small bag that was slung around her shoulder and her rather long black hair was decorated with beads. The large bell attached to the end of her long hemmed skirt jingled softly as she bent down over Elaina her soft brown sandals pushing into the dirt of the diminutive path. Taiss fluttered his eyes open even further wondering where the hell she came from. She rummaged though her bag only to pull a rock from it and she placed it on Elaina's forehead pushing Taiss out of the way without saying anything. The rock glowed red a moment matching the hue of the woman's clothing then dimmed back to the black rock. The woman picked up the rock and shoved it back in her bag and shook it roughly to get the rock to the bottom then smiled in bliss. "She will come around don't worry about it lad." The woman stood and tapped Taiss under the chin then on top of the head as she started to walk past instantly dimming in the shadows the bell jingling softly then she disappeared. Taiss reached out to grab her to say something but she had already gone. He cocked his head a little in puzzlement then looked down to Elaina, the glow of her body dim in the dark morning. Her hand moved over slightly and it rubbed up against his.
"Payerrod is the goddess of healing, don't worry who she was, she keeps secrets very well." Elaina sent Taiss a faded mental note and he instantly felt comforted that there was life inside the girl. He felt her forehead and her fever had gone down and her heartbeat was more evident then it was earlier. "I suppose the gods and goddesses will see much of me since I am turning into one of them." She tried to sound a little perky but her strength level was so low.
"Perhaps." He smiled down to her his northern accent getting the best of him, but he knew she heard him before she drifted back into sleep. It was around noon that morning when Elaina finally woke up her heart full of energy then she realized what she had done.
"Damn you Taiss." She cursed his name as she looked up over the small clearing seeing smoke rise into the first blue sky since the beginning of that moon. "Damn kiss I could have stopped it, they have the Earth Charm." She sighed heavily. "You think you could get us into the city?"
"Probably, but do you really think they attacked that early in the morning?"
"No doubt, I just hope everything isn't destroyed yet." She bent her head a little, the red curls brushing her cheeks. Taiss stepped behind her pulling her hair back then placing his hands on her shoulders, she reached up with her own hand and grabbed his. Light blasted from the trees shrouding her vision half of radiance and half of hours of darkness it was if she had been staring at the blaze of a candle to long and then it was smothered out and she could still make out the trace of light still imprinted in her mind.
"You have to close your eyes when I do that Elaina, remember?" Taiss laughed as she stumbled backwards to regain her vision. "We are near the southern gate, the northern one isn't in existence anymore."
She looked over the edge a little bit in which she could see the city where the green temple once stood. Now it was only piles of rock covered with green moss that was dieing to an awful yellow brown color. She frowned then grabbed Taiss and pulled him down with her to the gate.
"You shouldn't go marching in there looking like that." Taiss suggested pulling a different black robe from his back and quickly changing his.
"Fine." Elaina thought of something she could summon up and once she found something in her mind that interested her she picked it and her dress changed.
"Jeesh your like a total knockout, Eli why don't you do that more often?"
"I always forget about it." She shrugged and looked down at ther outfit. The short rather tight green skirt with a blue top that had a very low 'v' neckline that went down to her navel. With gold 'x' ties all the way up. She had black bangles around both wrists, her hair actually down to her shoulders and not up in a tie. Her boots were black as well and went up below her knee and they had a blue and green tassel hanging of the black laces.
"Your staff hun." Taiss was worried everyone would recognize it. She nodded and gave it a grim look instantly turning it to a sword. The hilt was blue as was the metal of the sword itself; the steel twisted around creating intricate patterns in the metal, almost giving it a astronomical feel. Taiss and Elaina nodded in approval and walked into the gate that was still standing only because of wooden poles.
"Halt, names please, and business here." A guard stepped out from the shadows of the gate.
"Its not your business to know about us." Elaina kept walking her sword (a.k.a staff) hung slightly at her waist. The guard grabbed her arm and she clamped his wrist and thrust him forward flinging him to the ground. "I warned you." She walked on Taiss's eyes got as big as potatoes as he saw the guard weighed almost twice as much as her. The guard stood and scurried up the street hidden in the shadows heading toward headquarters where the lord was awaiting information regarding any suspicious characters.
"My Lord, a girl and a young mage have entered the city." He stood panting at the doorway looking at Koron who sat at a table with a candle and a letter. He looked up. "Bring the girl to me unharmed, kill the man." He resumed looking at his paper as the guard left. Koron sighed and held the paper over the candled flame and the corner caught fire instantly and the manuscript was gone a moment later. "Donovan you might be off the hook this time." Koron stood and stepped outside holding the door handle with his left hand. "If anyone comes with the girl, take her and I want you to bring her to me." He turned and shut the door it closing with a click. Donovan closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, at the moment he was invisible but Koron had felt his presence earlier. He sighed and his body became visible and he sat down on a chair close to the hearth and looked into the flames.
"You bastard!" Elaina kicked a guard in the stomach. There was about eight of them trying to get a hold of her and about six after Taiss.
"It's orders miss, please just cooperate." A rather tall guard loomed over her and seized her wrists binding them with metal bracelets, she screamed again and Taiss still struggled against his own problems but saw her being pushed away her face drawn in a frown before everything went black. Elaina walked her eyes closed and head bowed looking to the ground. She kept shifting her hands in the bindings behind her back. A Guard opened a door and pushed Elaina into the room causing her to sprawl face first to the floorboards at Donovan's feet. Her hair covered her tear-streaked face and she didn't look up.
"Dismissed." His voice was soft as all eight guards clomped out of the building. "Well, well, look what some buckets of bolts brought in." Donovan bent down and grabbed her chin thrusting it up to meet his stare. Her locks of red curls were pushed backwards but her eyes remained closed. "We will have to put you in new robes before we meet the Lord." Elaina forced her chin out of his grasp and her outfit returned to the blue and green robes she was destined to wear. Her sword that had clattered to the floor some feet away modified into her staff. "Never mind the robes. Stand up." Elaina sat there looking at the floor. "I said Stand up." She remained in the same position not moving. "Get up DAMIT." He grabbed her arm and thrust her up pulling her to his side and shoved her out the door leaving her staff in the room. A light snow had started falling and Elaina moved with the same step as Donovan's but opened her eyes to see a frosted street with six dead guards and a puddle of red blood and a black robe. They walked for several minutes not saying anything until they reached a black building, a preserved one from the fire that had destroyed the rest of the town. Koron sat on a couch talking to one of his generals about the next move, the green amulet rested on a cushion in the middle of the table. "My lord."