ARC 5 - BATTLE AT THE HILL
Chapter 33: In Position
Perspective: Astro
We are on the Prophet's Hill. Our army sprawls across the ground before us. Somewhere between two and three thousand soldiers are down there, ready to die at my friend's command.
At the front, Steve stands in diamond armour that blazes under the midday sun. He is surrounded by men in similar apparel. The smugglers and bandits, the Jackals, make up most of them. However, I see more friendly faces among them. The dwarf, Urist, is hard to see but occasionally emerges to bark orders, usually instructing the smugglers as to how to conduct themselves in formation. Voidblade heads an auxiliary force to the side of several Endlings. No more than a dozen of them, but useful for running counter-interference on the Ender's forces.
Behind them is Tyron's force - the main one. The bulk of the congregation stands there in four or so grand, rectangular formations identical to Steve's own. Skirmishers out front, then infantry. At the back stands a two-thick line of men with poleaxes. Their duty is to deal with the Endlings who will doubtless teleport amidst the infantry to try and wreak havoc. Kay told me this was how they dealt with them in the Onslaught. I say a little prayer to Jeb, asking him to ensure this tactic translates well to Endlings who can teleport as quickly and tirelessly as the Ender's.
Tyron himself walks silently among the skirmishers. Warnado and Amanda flank him. Even though I know Kay referred to this specifically as "babysitting duty", the sight of the great hero attended by the younger generation conveys a strange dignity. Jennifer stands at the head of another such formation, bow already taut with an arrow.
Somewhere beneath the ground, Destiny and Rose await with their assortment of combat mages and fast-builders. Their force was one of people magical enough not to fit neatly into a normal military formation, but not gifted enough to cast complicated spells.
On either side of the hill are arrayed our few cannons and their defenders. They are more like catapults in shape but are deadly artillery in their own right. They shall fling explosives into the thick of our enemies' numbers, killing indiscriminately.
On a ridge at the foot of the hill, my several hundred archers, ready to advance as soon as required.
A little behind them, Shadow heads a force of a hundred or so mages. I assess the tiny mage, recalling the burning nothing to which she is a conduit. It sears behind my eyes. It is as though there were a hole in my skull through which every light in every world filtered to blind my thoughts. I recall how she almost slipped into that dreadful form upon discovering her brother's capture. How much like a person she had looked, without looking at all like a person. Like a face in the stars. I am afraid.
And of course, beside me stands Kay, who provokes in me a tumult of sadness and joy, fear and nostalgia. He is clad in bright diamond. His eyes are like jade stars, burning with purpose. And his auburn hair catches the sunlight and becomes a bronze beacon. His face is flat, displaying a stoicism that will one day serve him well in portraits and kingly ceremonies.
I relive his fall. I break down the door, see the monk with a bullet in his temple. Kay's smoking gun, which he now points to Hamish. He sees me. Our eyes lock. Hamish's eyes blaze as he sees shame overwhelm Kay. The General, my friend, rounds on the Silhouette. A flash. A bang. The funeral mask shatters. Blood sprays. Glibby bears the corpse away, swearing revenge. Hamish's split face shatters into mad laughter. Kay pretends he has apprehended him as others flow in. Gogyst and Aaron and Tauto and others. He lies about what happened to the monk. Says he tried to save him. The shame remains. It follows him to his grave like a stray dog he'd fed.
And yet, here he is. He's alive. He hasn't done that yet. I wonder if there's still time.
I hear a rush of wind and turn. Two guards step aside to reveal the Prophet and his bodyguard, the Other Steve. I call him Other Steve, to save all the stupid stuff the others have tried to do with numbers and letters. He looks tentatively exhilarated as he sees the possibility of his revenge on the Entity. It destroyed his world, and now he sees hope of destroying it, despite everything.
Kay steps forward. He speaks in a proud roar, amplified by the mages:
"I have, in the past, been known for rousing or tedious speeches. I'll keep it simple this time. Fire has been captured, but Fire alone is not our strength. We will enter that village, we will kill its defenders… Ah, there they are now!"
He gestures to the horizon. Thousands of diamond-clad men and giants array themselves outside the village's corrugated fortifications. The Ender's contingent stand between their formations, acting as snarling boundaries. I scan the landscape and see the hulking form of Glibby, but not the Entity's bronze shell. Kay might just get lucky today.
"Yes," Kay smiles. "We'll massacre them to a man, I reckon. Hold firm. Hold your resolve. Kill all, kill merrily. I have overseen many of your training personally, and I trust in your ability and will to win against this cohort of mercenaries and genociders. Do not forget the Prophet's word: we shall prevail. With that, I hand you over to him."
He steps aside and the old man staggers forth. He proclaims in his explosive rasp:
"Fear shall be driven out by the confluence of worlds, of future and present! A leader returns from the unknown!"
He steps back. Kay, despite the ambiguity of his words, walks forward.
"You heard the man," he concludes serenely. "Advance. Drive out the fear."
