Chapter Thirty-Six

Coran's departed father had once said to him that the toughest decisions to make were the ones that you knew you had to. At the time, the young prince hadn't understood what that had meant, and hadn't expected to be put in the position where he'd ever have to.

Now he understood.

His eyes, though the telescopic lens, were focused fervently on Cynn, valiantly carrying the either mortally wounded, or already slain, Mhenlo through the firing zone. The young king had held off on continuing the barrage for as long as he could, but it was vitally important that the Charr numbers be thinned… and that meant he couldn't wait any longer to resume firing.

As much as Coran was sure he would be mourning this decision for months, it was the order he had to make.

"Team One… prepare to fire on my mark…" Coran said, still reluctant to make the final order, waiting until the last possible second before he would have to issue a new firing solution.

Damn it… he couldn't do it.

He wasn't his father, and trying to be his father would only lead to failure. He could only be Coran, and the Coran that he was couldn't sacrifice his ideals, or his vow of life to Dwayna, by sacrificing his friends. Perhaps that was selfish… but that's who he was.

He handed off his horn and telescopic lens to the firing second, and said, "Call the order to abandon the cannons, and move to the battlefield… we make our stand now."

The Shade lieutenant was understandably perplexed, and blinked a couple times as Coran dashed away east down the wall towards the temporary stairwell assembled for their quick mobilization on the battlefield.

He ran past Yuu, who rolled her eyes as if expecting something along these lines. Yuu didn't even have to say a word, merely nodding to her lieutenant who seemed to understand exactly what she wanted done before the assassin took off after her friend and king.

Grazz noted the commotion, and knew what it meant. He didn't even bother trying to issue any orders to his team, and simply took stride dutifully to meet Coran and Yuu as all three reached the wooden stairway almost simultaneously. Coran gave them both a half smile, and said, "Yeah, I know… this damn altruistic fool is going to get us all killed."

"You wouldn't be you otherwise." Yuu replied with a sigh, taking the lead down the clattering wooden steps.

Coran was up to something, and Devona had the nagging suspicion she wasn't going to like it. She followed her husband-to-be with nothing but two wary eyes as he rushed along the top of the wall… then when she saw him disappear from sight down the north face, she cursed silently. She knew it…

She glanced back at the reservists, then down at her abdomen, torn with indecision. She had promised to stay back… but Grenth take it… if it came down to this ragtag bunch behind her, the battle was over anyway.

"Well… I suspect your father would disagree, but I think you'll make a fine warrior, little one." Devona said quietly, "Might as well get your first taste of battle now."

She knew she was being irresponsible, and by Balthazar, she didn't give a damn. Why was Coran the only one allowed to be reckless? "Stay here, and do not move." Devona ordered the reservists. Most of them were too shell shocked from the sounds of battle outside the wall to disagree, and the rest wanted nothing to do with one of Ascalon's most famous warriors.

The guards at the gate were a little more staunch in their objections, until one of them found Devona's Rinblade resting perilously close to the vital veins in his neck.

"One way or another, I am going through that gate. The only question is whether or not you will have your head attached to your neck when I do."

The guard gulped… he knew that the king would not approve of him letting the queen-to-be out onto the battlefield… but Devona had a very convincing argument resting underneath his chin, and a dangerous gleam to her eyes that didn't assure him her words were an idle threat.

"Tinsdale… open the gate." He finally said with a gulp. The second gate guard darted his eyes between the pair twice, then complied, but only enough so that Devona could slip through in a full sprint. Devona's gaze steeled as the battlefield spread out before her.

"Damned if we do, damned if we don't." the first guard muttered with a resigned sigh. Oh well, he knew a monk in the third battalion who would be willing to revive him…

"Grenth take you, you damn stupid monk, don't you dare die on me!" Cynn shouted with bitter anger, even though she knew that life had already fled from Mhenlo's body. If she didn't catch up to the line in time… damn it…

"Stupid, selfless, obnoxiously noble… I hate you… I absolutely loathe you… wake up so I can say it to your face…" The elementalist continued to rant as she fought back tears. She stumbled on a charred cropping of rock, and dropped to one knee, Mhenlo sliding off her shoulder as she tried to regain her footing.

At that point, Cynn fell to her knees, and collected her fallen friend one more time. It was no use… she wasn't going to make it.

"Damn you… why did you do this to me? You know why I was always so secretive about us… you know that the gods always take away the ones I love… but… you didn't care… don't leave me… please… don't leave me…"

Her hand caressed his cold, bloody cheek, her tears mixing with the crimson trail. "I promise I'll… I won't hide from you or anyone. I'll tell everyone and anyone how much I care about you… just… don't leave… don't go and leave me all alone again…"

The sounds of shouts and battle cries filled her ears, and she instinctively curled into a ball around her fallen comrade before realizing that the sounds weren't Charr, but human. She looked to the south quickly to see Barradin again leading the allied charge, and then curled up again in case one of the soldiers accidentally ran into her.

They didn't miraculously enough… but nonetheless, that didn't solve her immediate concern, as all the monks seemed to ignore her in lieu of the fighters along the battle line. She was about to demand attention when the shimmering blue-white glow of a Rebirth spell pulled Mhenlo from her arms. Following the path of energy, she found Mhenlo, restored of his serene vitality.

Apparently, Cynn's promise was true, because she wasted no time jumping to her feet, and nearly engulfing Mhenlo in a crushing hug. "If you ever do that again, I'll kill you."

"I'll make sure in the future that my death will be at your hands." He replied with a lopsided grin.

"As loathe as I am to interrupt true love as it is blossoming, there's a bit of a war going on… and our help would probably be needed." A snarky female voice grumbled, and that was when Cynn became aware that other human beings were watching.

To her credit, she didn't panic or step away as Grazz, Yuu, and Coran looked on bemusedly. "Coran, what are you doing out here… did you…?"

"Yeah, I rather need Mhenlo alive." Coran said.

"Quite… because you're going to need him to resurrect you." Another female voice threatened, the tone very displeased.

Coran turned to address Devona, but he cut him off before he could even say a word, "If you're going to endanger yourself recklessly, I don't see why I have to be the responsible one all the time. I say to hell with it. We're either all going to live, or we're all going to die. I'm not sitting back meekly while everyone else risks their lives for my benefit."

Barradin joined the small meeting moments later, and he was about to object to Devona's presence. "I had a hard enough time accepting the king coming down to the field of battle… but I figured you were far too sensible to put yourself…"

"Don't start into that, I beg you…" Coran said, holding up a hand. "For all our sakes… let it go."

"I'll be quite honest… I don't know what to make of the battle. Your cannons have definitely done the trick. The Charr are rattled, and they do not look like they want to fight… but it they haven't broken… it's like something is compelling them to keep pressing."

At that point, Grazz turned his attention northward, as if looking into space. He knew exactly who was responsible for the continued Charr pressure, and his gaze pierced through the chaos of battle, to where one particular chieftain was no doubt barking orders, overruling and perhaps even killing any dissenters.

Something had to be done before either Ascalon, the Charr tribes, or even both were crippled beyond recovery… and Grazz knew of one way to go about it, and would do one more favor for Coran in the process.

With a pair of deft movements, he snatched Devona's hammer from her back and her Rinblade from her waist. The exile Charr was gone in a flash before the warrior could even form a coherent protest, dashing towards, and eventually through the battle line.

"What in Balthazar's name is he doing?" Yuu asked. "Trying to get himself killed?"

"I'm not sure… but I suspect he's decided its time to conclude whatever unfinished business he has with his kin." Coran replied. "As do we. However, my dear Devona, since I noticed you aren't particularly well armed… perhaps it is prudent for you to return to the wall?"

"Yes… it is." Barradin remarked with a smile. "We'll win the day, preferably without worrying incessantly about the royal family."

The statement was punctuated by Yuu and Aiden giving the young king and his betrothed a not so gentle push in the back. "Get going." The assassin ordered darkly, giving Coran another push when she deemed he wasn't moving fast enough. "Go play with the cannons or something."