Yay I live. Sorry for keeping everyone waiting for so long! So in return for your patience, I give you a Very Long Chapter (by my standards, anyway).
-----
Ever since she had heard the news of Phoenix's army in the East, Niira had become even more morose than ever. There was nothing she could do for anyone, and she had quickly decided that was the worst feeling in the world. Even if Albert managed to get a messenger to the Eastern clans before the army had slipped past them, there was still no guarantee that the foreigners would even be willing to assist Serdio. They could decide to be spiteful and attack the Reisch's approaching forces instead. That was political drama Niira most definitely did not want to occur.
To make everything worse, her best friend was still not recovering from his encounter with the Moon Scintillation, and Shadow Hunter refused to allow anyone in the infirmary room to see him.
Niira was beginning to loathe the half-Wingly very much. But she still stayed within Indels' grounds, hoping she would get a chance to see Coen. She never got that chance. But she did see someone else.
He walked past her one morning, taking relaxed strides as he crossed the courtyard to the infamous half-mountain that was the stairway to the castle. Niira and Alakyl watched him silently, the half-blood for once not quite so depressed as she had been recently. The man did not look like anyone she recognized who spent time in Indels. He was far too laid-back in the way he carried himself, for one.
"Wuff?" Alakyl tilted her head.
"I don't know," Niira replied. "I don't recognize him."
"Hmm. Follow!" The wolf suddenly bounded forward.
"Alakyl! No, it's rude--" Niira sighed. It was generally a better idea to just follow the wolf and keep her out of trouble than it was to argue with her.
Even the energetic canine could not run all the way up the stairs. She stopped halfway up, panting and gasping for breath. It was the only reason Niira was able to catch up with her. She too had to stop to rest.
"Why...wuff...so far..."
"I think...they made this...so any attacking enemies...would be too tired to fight...once they reached the top."
Alakyl did not approve of that explanation.
By the time they finally entered Indels, the strange man was nowhere to be found. Alakyl attempted to sniff around and track him, but was soon distracted by other things. Niira, on the other hand, had more success: she found her father.
The knight smiled softly when he saw her. "Where have you been all day?"
"Who was that man that just came in?"
Lavitz was silent for a beat. "I think that's the longest sentence I've heard you say in quite a while."
Niira scowled at him. "It's not my fault everything's horrible right now."
"I know. Which man were you asking about again?"
"There was a man who just came here who I've never seen before. He was pretty tall and walked like he owned the place."
"Ah." Lavitz chuckled. "That's Soren. He's an old friend of mine."
"What's he doing here?"
"I..." Lavitz glanced around, the took hold of Niira's arm and led her to a slightly less active area than the front entrance. "Well. Under normal circumstances, I couldn't tell you, but since you were there when we first heard the news..."
"He's going to be the messenger to the East?"
"No. He's just writing the message."
It'll never get there in time. We're all going to die.
"Niira?"
"What."
"You had that look on your face."
"What look?"
At first Lavitz didn't answer. Then he shook his head. "That look people get when they realize something terrible has just happened."
"It has, though! The message won't arrive in time to stop Phoenix's army."
"You don't know that." But the tone of his voice betrayed the fact that he agreed with her.
"I don't like just sitting here waiting for things to happen. Especially when they're things like this."
"Neither do I. But we don't have much of a choice."
Maybe we do. There was always a choice. And when one didn't present itself, you just had to make one up. Her father had told her that once. A messenger on even the fastest horse may only just reach his destination in time. We need something faster...
"What's going on in that mind of yours?"
"Dragons."
The First Knight narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
"If...some of us--dragoons, I mean--could get to the army first..."
"No, Niira."
Niira jumped slightly, startled by the hard edge to her father's words.
"That would be little better than what Phoenix is doing now. He's invaded the Easterners' land, even if he is just using it to get around Serdio. Sending dragoons is no different. We would be invading, and that is not a position neither I nor Albert is willing to put this country in."
"But--"
"There's no sense in sending perfectly good warriors out to possibly die when we'll be needing all of them to fight the army that's already hiding out within Serdio's borders." Lavitz ended his tirade there, although Niira could tell he was just waiting for an excuse to go on about what a bad idea it was. He could probably come up with several dozen; after all, he had been First Knight since before Niira was born and he knew more about the strategy and politics behind the military than she could ever hope to understand.
That didn't mean that she agreed with him.
As if reading her mind, he added, "And for the love of Soa, don't you even think about running off alone again to do something stupid like you did at the fort."
-----
Still, there was nothing better than riding on the back of a dragon. And at least she wasn't alone this time.
Alakyl was quick to join Niira's departure from Bale that night. And how Meru ever found out about their plan, they didn't know, but the three dragoons immediately set off for the eastern border of Serdio.
After they had distanced themselves sufficiently from Bale, they paused long enough to decide exactly which of their dragons should carry them to the east. In short order they decided on Hiranmyaku, Alakyl's vassal dragon, as he was the fastest of the three. Meru wasn't even sure if her dragon Hafkitta would appreciate having to move such a large distance on land, and Yinwulong, while fast, could not compare to Hiranmyaku. So Alakyl quickly summoned her dragon.
Niira had seen the Chaos Dragon before, but he always shocked her when he would first appear. One minute he wasn't there, and the next, his long snake-like body was curled up on the ground in front of them. Meru fell over backwards in surprise.
Stretching, the enormous dragon began to float; as he lacked wings, he used magic to support and propel himself in the air. His underside glowed like a shimmering rainbow, casting a pale light over the dragoons. Then he lowered his armored head to Alakyl to converse with her, the multiple eyes along the top of his forehead focused on her alone.
"Wuff!" Alakyl soon proclaimed. She jumped onto the back of Hiranmyaku's head, bracing herself against his thick spikes. Niira followed, although cautiously. Even though she was also a dragoon, that didn't mean other dragons automatically liked her. When Alakyl had visited her in the Northlands, they would sometimes take rides on the dragons. Hiranmyaku had thrown Niira a few times out of spite, and Niira's dragon Yinwulong had often refused to move once Alakyl was on his back.
Meru was apparently aware of dragons' fickle natures as well. "Are you sure about this?"
"Wuff! Rrr-r-r-uff!"
"She says Hiranmyaku promises to behave, since this is an important mission," Niira translated.
"Well!" Meru said, her normal bouncy mood suddenly returning. "I guess if I fall off I won't fall very far. Wingly wings and all." She jumped up onto the dragon's back.
She barely had time to grab on to a spine before Hiranmyaku was rising. With a slight jerk, he shot forward into the night.
-----
It was dawn before they realized they were no longer in Serdio. Sharp mountains rose up before them, their tops covered with scattered patches of snow. There was no sign of any army, but with the numerous deep valleys around, there were plenty of places to hide. Hiranmyaku slowed, lowering himself until he was just skimming over the surface of the mountains. It would be harder for the enemy to spot such a large dragon and have advance warning of approaching dragoons by traveling this way, but it also meant that if they happened upon Phoenix's troops they would have no chance to retreat and plan an attack.
"So..." Meru said at last. "When do you think that messenger will arrive?"
"I don't know for sure. If they're really fast and change horses often, maybe by this evening, but probably not until tonight or tomorrow morning."
"Hrr." Alakyl frowned. "Wuff?"
"What makes you think I have a plan?" Niira muttered.
"Don't you have any idea what you intend to do now?" Meru said.
"Find the army, first. Then stall them long enough for either the Reisch and his army to catch up, or for the Easterners to decide to help us."
"What if they don't want to help? Or what if they want to harm us?"
"I try not to think about that."
"Oh. How big of an army are we going to be facing?"
"I don't know, Meru." Niira sighed, exasperated. "Big enough."
"All right! Sounds great."
Niira wasn't sure if Meru was being sarcastic or just sickeningly upbeat as usual.
Hiranmyaku dove down the slope of another mountain. Still no sign of armed Northlanders. "This may take a while," Niira muttered.
-----
The darkness of the night proved to be what they needed. It was then that they saw the first hint of civilization since they had arrived--the pale light of a campfire reflecting off the high snowy slopes of the mountains. As they approached the valley, it became clear that it wasn't just one or a few campfires, but many. Enough to keep a sleeping army safe from any wild animals that might be nearby.
Hiranmyaku settled himself on a rocky ledge just on the other side of the mountain from the camp. The three dragoons hurried forward to see what they had found. Laying flat against the slope, they peered over the rocks at the scene below.
Huddled together in small circles throughout the valley were groups of smallish Northlanders--musteliforms. Scattered throughout the rat-people were larger, but less numerous, groups of Fallen. Between the sleeping soldiers and around the outside of the valley, night guards paced through the shadows. A few avians were perched on higher ground, but still well below where the dragoons were stationed. There were no Fireborn that Niira could see or sense. That was the only consolation she found.
Withdrawing to Hiranmyaku's side, they took a moment to discuss their finding. The conclusion was to do nothing. Since the enemy wasn't moving, there was no need to rush in and try to slow them down. They curled up together to get some much-needed sleep.
When Niira woke, the first thing she noticed was how cold it was. Everything seemed to have absorbed the chill of the night and that made it even colder. She slowly woke up enough to think more clearly. Why am I so cold?
Hiranmyaku's gone.
Forcing herself into full awareness, Niira grabbed her collapsed spear, ready to spring into action. Hiranmyaku's large body had been blocking the cold mountain air from the dragoons during the night, but now he was nowhere to be found. That bastard. Spying Alakyl, Niira crawled over to her. "Where's that dragon of yours? Why did he leave?"
The answer was a short "Shh!" from both Alakyl and Meru, who was also sitting nearby.
Lowering her voice, Niira repeated her question. "Why did Hiranmyaku leave? He was supposed to be keeping watch!"
"Wuff."
"He was," Meru added.
"Wuff!"
"Then I woke up this morning and heard something moving around. So I checked it out, y'see. Was some of those bird-guys coming up the hill. And then I looked back and the dragon was gone."
Niira just stared at her. "But...why?"
"I think he figured that if the bird-guys saw him, they'd know they have dragoons after them. But if they just see us alone, we're not as dangerous. We're just...people. And a dog."
"Wuff! Wuff says wuff!"
It was the most intelligent thing Niira had ever heard the Wingly say. "So where are the avians now?" she asked after she had gotten over the shock.
"Dunno."
"Wuff!" Alakyl scratched at the ground.
Following Alakyl's cue, Niira looked down into the valley again. Now that the sun was up, she had a clear view of the scene below. Avians were flying low over the army, letting out harsh cries that could be heard from where the dragoons sat. It was obviously a wake-up call, as the army was soon packing up and preparing to march once more.
Now, Niira could see the full extent of that army.
"Oh my god...there's so many..."
Thousands upon thousands. Far bigger than the Serdian army. Bigger than the Reisch's forces combined with the hyaeniforms'. More soldiers than she had ever thought possible.
She knew she was shaking, and she was fully aware of the tears in her eyes. "Where did they all come from?" Slowly she sank below the ridge of rocks, curling up on the ground. It's impossible...there's so many...we're dead, we're all dead. She wished that her uncle had left her in Bale that day fourteen years ago. None of this would have ever happened to me. I don't want this. It's my fault, I came back to Bale and brought it all with me...
"Hey! Niira!" Meru was shaking her arm.
"It's over," Niira said dully. "There is nothing we can do."
"Don't talk like that!"
"Wuff!"
"There's too many..."
"Come on, you're a dragoon! You have to do something!"
"I can't."
"Well, what are you going to do, run back to Bale? We're here now, we have to do something!"
She didn't want to go back to Bale. That would mean facing her father. Not only had she run off again, but she had completely failed in her task, again.
"We can still stall them!"
Niira didn't say anything.
Meru stomped off, frustrated, flailing her arms around and making angry noises to herself. After getting it out of her system, she came back to Niira. "I can't believe yer making me do all the thinking around here! Listen, they're almost ready to move out. But right now they're still in the valley. They don't have many ways out, so they're basically trapped. If we fly down there with our dragons, we can beat 'em up good. Even if they escape, we'll still have done a lot of damage."
"You mean, even if we die."
"Whatever. Get up, we don't have much time!"
Somehow, Niira allowed herself to be pulled and pushed to her feet by her companions.
"I would've thought some of Lavitz's...you know, some of him would have rubbed off on you somehow. But you're such a wuss sometimes, you know that?"
"Let me use some dragoon magic on you, then we'll see who's the wuss."
Meru grinned suddenly and spun around. "That's the spirit! Now, let's go get them rats!" As she danced around, she was enveloped with icy magic, which broke away to reveal shimmering armor and wings.
"Wuff!" Alakyl joined in with the dancing.
Niira just watched them. Then, no knowing what else to do, she called on her dragoon spirit as well. The darkness was quick to come to her; Yinwu was eager to start the impending bloodbath in the valley. The dragon was soon standing behind her, nosing her gently in the back, prodding her to get killing things already.
Hiranmyaku and Hafkitta also joined them, perching their serpentine bodies on the rocks, out of sight of the army below them. They waited patiently for their next command.
"All right!" Meru stopped her dancing. "Your turn to think of stuff to do!"
The Black Gold Dragoon thought for a few moments. Would it be better to all come in from one direction, or spread out? "Okay...Alakyl, you and Hiranmyaku go to the far side of the valley. Meru, take your dragon and get across from Alakyl. I'll take the south side. I'll give you a minute to get in place, and then on my signal, we attack. Try to keep them in the north side of the valley, don't let them get any further south. We need to try to hold them here until either the Reisch can find us or the Easterners." Any god above who cares to listen, please let the Easterners cooperate with us.
"What's yer signal?"
"Oh...um...here." Holding out her hand, palm up, Niira summoned a small ball of dark energy. She tossed it up couple feet, letting it explode, the shards falling downwards like falling stars. "When you see it explode like that. Of course it'll be much bigger and go higher so you can see it."
"Alrighty!"
"Alakyl?"
The wolf nodded her assent.
"Good. Now get to your positions."
The two dragons sped off. Yinwu took his time in reaching his spot. He found a large ridge to hide behind, resting his head between some of the rocks on top so he could observe the goings-on below. His wings were outspread, tense, and his tail lashed back and forth in anticipation.
"Just hold on for a bit longer," Niira said to him.
The army was already near the south point of the valley. It wouldn't be long before the front ranks were out of the trap. I hope Meru and Alakyl got to their places. I'm not sure if I can wait a full minute. Nervously, Niira waited her pre-determined minute. She didn't want to risk signaling to the others if they weren't in a place where they could see her.
Yinwu told her that a minute had surely passed by now, and he wanted some action.
"Fine. You had better be right about the minute though." Gathering a ball of magic the size of a small boulder, she shot it into the air. At the height of its arc, it exploded with a blinding light.
In the valley, she saw some of the ranks quiver. They had seen her signal as well.
"Time to fly," Niira said to her dragon.
With a deafening roar, Yinwulong heaved himself over the ridge of the mountain, wings beating to get him aloft. Then his wings folded against his flanks and he dove at the enemy. From around the valley, his war cry was echoed by the other two dragons.
Niira was close behind him. As she drew nearer to the army, it seemed less daunting, but she knew that was merely because her range of vision was growing more limited. When she was close enough, she summoned her magic, turning her dive into a spin, spear thrust forward. Dark magic surrounded her, blinding white at her spear blade, fading to a black that was darker than night as it trailed down her body.
The musteliforms dove out of her way as she rocketed toward them. But she hadn't been meaning to strike one of them. Instead, she crashed full-speed into the ground.
The resulting explosion spread outward from point of impact for a hundred feet around. The enemy soldiers nearest to her simply vaporized, while the ones further out were thrown from the area, covered with wounds varying from mere scratches to missing limbs.
That maneuver had cost her quite a bit of energy. Flying out of her crater, unscathed, Niira moved up until she was beyond the reach of arrows and most attacks that the Fallen magicians could throw at her, so she could think.
Yinwulong was hovering above one side of the valley, his tail arched above his head, the cannon on its end pointed at the army. He released a devastating dark beam, then flew to another point from which to wreak his havoc. From somewhere behind Niira came a rolling sheet of ice, from Meru or her dragon. Alakyl was flying with Hiranmyaku as he sought a new target.
The army was in chaos. Already, hundreds of the soldiers were dead or injured. But it seemed that whenever ten of the enemy was killed, a hundred more would rush in to take their place. Even though the dragoons' surprise attack seemed to have done its purpose, Phoenix's troops were quickly falling back on their training. They were beginning to form groups around individual magicians.
That was not a good sign. While the magicians' power could not compare to that of the dragon warriors, they had enough skill to be able to repel some dragoon magic, if not completely block it. And their attacks could do damage and drain spirit energy faster than had been planned.
As if noticing this, Hiranmyaku went for several of the magicians, swinging his long spiked tail at them to distract them from working their spells.
Niira lunged with her spear at an avian who dared to come too close. It fell without resistance. Now what? We need to do as much damage as possible... Calling every last bit of energy she had, she dove and spun again. The enemy was more prepared for the move this time, but she was still able to take out many of them. However, she had sacrificed her dragoon energy, and as she climbed out of her crater, her black armor faded away.
The army was on her like a wildfire. She didn't have time to think. They came at her from all sides, all trying to get a piece of her all at once. Well...it shouldn't take me too long to regain my wings at this rate.
She jumped up on a boulder, daring the soldiers to try to come after her. A few arrows hissed past her, one clipping her shoulder. She tried to ignore the sudden pain.
From somewhere nearby came Hiranmyaku's roar. It wasn't a sound of defiant challenge, but rather one of panic. Niira glanced briefly in the direction of the sound. The thick loops of the dragon's body arched above the ground, thrashing about. He roared again, obviously calling for help. And then Niira saw why: The soldiers were using rope to tie him to the ground, throwing the coils over his body, around his spines, holding the rope down with rocks or large metal spikes sunk into the ground.
"No!" Niira leapt from her rock, intending to reach the dragon. Everywhere, the soldiers stopped her, forcing her back with their sharp blades and claws. Not knowing what else to do, she once again transformed into her dragoon armor, despite her energy not being fully recharged. Winging her way over the horde, she landed near Hiranmyaku's head. "Hold on!" she shouted to him.
Alakyl, armor-less, was running up and down the length of her dragon, biting back any who dared to come too near. Her efforts were futile; as soon as she left one spot, the soldiers would just come back. The rope was too thick and too weighted down for the wolf to remove, and she couldn't just send Hiranmyaku away, because he wasn't able to get away due to the ropes. He was too panicked to listen to even his master anyway.
Niira swiped at one of the ropes with her spear. It came loose, and the dragon strained against his restraints. Taking to the air again, Niira sped along his side, spear lowered to catch the ropes. They sprung free, snapping back with enough force to send a grown man sprawling. As she reached his tail tip, her dragoon energy once again gave out, and she was left standing on the battlefield.
Hiranmyaku, not quite understanding that he was free now, was still in a state of blind terror, and whipped his tail to the side. He caught Niira in her stomach, sending her flying up onto the rocky slope of the mountain.
She almost lost her grip on her spear, it was that sudden. She was on the ground next to the dragon one moment, the next, she was against the rocks, feeling as if she had just been crushed to death. She wasn't sure if she could move any more. She wasn't sure that she would want to. The soldiers must have thought her to be dead, as none came up after her. Or maybe they were still concentrating on the wild Hiranmyaku.
She could barely hear the battle from where she was. She wasn't sure if here eyes were opened or closed. Whatever the case was, the world was black. Her ribcage felt oddly soft whenever she tried to breathe, her shoulder didn't seem to be in the right place. Nothing felt right. But it doesn't hurt, really. I know it hurts but I don't feel it. It's all...black. Dark. Nothing. Somehow that was comforting to her, like a blanket. She snuggled in it.
-----
Everything was still dark. But a different kind of dark. Twilight-dark.
Things were slowly coming into focus, and she didn't like it.
She thought she heard people's voices, but it was hard to tell. Something smooth and warm touched her lips as fingers touched her throat. She understood that well enough, even in her state of half-consciousness. Drink. She drank it.
It didn't have any taste that she could remember. But suddenly, everything hurt in crystal clarity. She mewled in distress, her voice sounding hoarse and distant to her own ears, and she tried to move. She tried to claw at the pain under her skin, but her arms wouldn't respond.
She felt a heat within her like a fire. It consumed her, surrounded her, flames shooting to the sky. A monster within the flames. "No, Uncle! I won't let you take me this time!" The fire monster turned around to face her. Its armor was black, not red. "You're dead, Black Monster. The Moon Child is no more." Its eyes gleamed angrily in response. Its face was her own, golden fur with blue-gray markings, or maybe it was avian, flaming feathers like a phoenix.
Someone was talking again, holding her down. The fires died, but she still hurt. She tried to claw away the pain again. This time, her arms did obey, but her restraints were too strong. She wriggled, her pain accentuated with every move she made.
Eventually she gave up on that. Again, the glass was put to her mouth, the hand touched her throat. Again she drank. Again, the pain, although not nearly as bad as the first time. The fire returned, but only as embers.
When the pain had passed and only aches remained, she dared to open her eyes. The light was dim, or maybe it was just her. There were people huddled around her. One leaned over her, his form black against the darkening sky. He said something. Not understanding, Niira tried to focus on him. Slowly, his features came into view. He had dark hair and wore a fur-edged sash that was covered with various pins and medallions. He repeated his question. Niira still didn't understand.
He disappeared for a moment, then returned with another glass, which he offered to her. Niira felt her human face twitch into a snarl. She wouldn't be taking any more of that pain-inducing liquid. The man shook his head. "Water," he said, although the single word was spoken through an odd, heavy accent that Niira had never heard before.
She decided that water would be good, and drank from the glass.
"Are you..." the man continued slowly, as if unsure of what to say, "Serdian?"
After swallowing the water, she found she could speak, although only softly. "Yes."
He smiled. "You think you need invite us to war?"
Niira closed her eyes in relief.
-----
Meru, Alakyl, and the three dragons had managed to keep the army in the valley, although they had long ago given up fighting. Each side retreated to nurse its wounds, but neither dared to move. The Northlanders were now prepared for the dragoons' attack and could possibly overcome the exhausted warriors and their beasts easily due to their sheer numbers. Around the valley, the dragons and their partners waited for any soldiers who tried to leave the area. Those who did were quickly killed.
So neither side had moved for several hours. Something about that sounded odd to Niira.
Now that the Easterners had arrived, it looked as if battle could begin again at any moment. Niira didn't need to understand their language to see that the clansmen were ready for a fight. Every single man was armed to the teeth with blades and shields, and she was sure that they had more hidden weapons under their clothing. For now, they seemed to be waiting for what the dragoons would do before charging into the valley. Niira was beginning to wonder if they were afraid of the dragons, and that they were just beasts who wouldn't know friend from foe.
Her thoughts were confirmed when Meru and Hafkitta arrived at the camp. The dragon perched above the men on an outcrop, her fins clamped against her sides in pain. The Easterners gave her wide berth, drawing their weapons if they had to walk under her, as if she was just waiting to pounce on them.
Meru had run to Niira as soon as she could. Though Niira could now sit up, it was clear to her that she would be of no more use in this battle. Meru crouched next to her. "What happened to you? We were looking and looking and we couldn't find you and we just had to keep fighting--"
The Wingly's chatter hurt Niira's head. "Hiranmyaku got me with his tail."
"Oh. Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?"
"Not really."
"Lionn found me. He's one of the clan chiefs I think. He's in charge of this army, whatever he is."
"Oh. So if they're here, what are they waiting for?"
"I don't know. Maybe they're afraid of the dragons."
"Ah, well, Alakyl will be here soon. Why don't you call your dragon over?"
Niira closed her eyes, focusing her thoughts at her black dragoon spirit. Then she shuddered, the effort of summoning her dragon too much for her. "I can't."
"Maybe he'll follow Alakyl."
"I don't know." Niira allowed herself to relax and rest a few moments.
"I think the rat-people were going to settle down for the night anyway."
"Good."
"Do you think the Easterners could take over the watch for tonight? I'm beat."
"What don't you ask them?"
"But...they speak...Easternish."
Niira sighed. "Go find Lionn. He's got a big fancy sash with lots of medals on it."
"Okay!" Meru bounded away to do so.
Niira was asleep a few moments later.
-----
In the morning, she felt better. She was able to eat something that Lionn gave her, although she wasn't quite sure what it was. Almost as soon as she had finished, the Easterners ran into the valley with raucous shouts and battle cries, leaving her alone in her makeshift bed.
She knew the clan army that had met them here was only a small fraction of all the soldiers in these lands, from her conversations with Lionn. She wasn't sure why more hadn't been sent. Any help is good help, I guess. It gave her a chance to rest and heal, at any rate.
It couldn't have been much more than a half hour later when she heard a different sound. Feliforms. Her own people. She tried to pull herself up to the mountain ridge to have a look, but she only got so far before she was tired again. In desperation, she called Yinwu away from the battle. The dragon grumpily obliged, banking to fly to her.
When he was laying down on the ground next to her, Niira wrapped her arms around the base of his neck as far as she could reach. Yinwu stood, swinging her up onto his back, and lifted into the air. Niira winced from the movement, but at least she could see what was going on now.
On the north side of the valley, another army was sweeping in. Not Phoenix's soldiers. Feliforms, some mounted on gryffs. Avians. Even hyaeniforms. The Reisch's army.
Niira hugged her dragon, crying with joy. "Let's go see the Reisch," she said to him.
Yinwu sailed over the valley, far above the battle raging below. He turned to skim over the new army coming down the mountainside. Spying his target, he turned around and headed for a high spot on the mountain.
There, the Reisch sat astride his gryff. He smiled at Niira and Yinwu as they landed nearby. "I was wondering if you had made it to Endiness safely," he said to her, his whiskers bristled out in the smile.
"You're missing out on the action down below," Niira replied. She was still sitting on Yinwu's shoulder, as she wasn't sure if she'd be able to stand if she got down.
The Reisch shrugged, the movement making his red-brown mane ripple. "It looks like I'll still have plenty of action left when I get down there. But that's not really my job, now is it?" As the Reisch, he held the position of commanding the forces loyal to Serpent Mother. He was one of the most brilliant strategists the Northlands had ever seen. Instead of learning how to fight with a sword when he was young, he had learned to fight with his mind. It more than made up for the gimp leg he had since his birth that prevented him from doing much fighting. He still knew how to wield a sword with deadly efficiency, he just had to do it from the back of a gryff.
It was that trait, his determination to succeed, that Niira liked about him. Though she saw him rarely, it was always a happy meeting.
Although today was different.
"Who are the humans down there?" the Reisch was asking.
"They're the natives of this land. They're with us, don't worry."
"I see. Well, I will talk with you some more later. Work to do." Without waiting for her to reply, he whistled to his gryff. The beast jumped forward, charging down the slope.
"We should get back to the camp," Niira said to Yinwu. The dragon whuffled and opened his wings. Higher and higher they rose, giving them a spectacular view of the mountains to the north.
Yinwu snorted. He smelled something, he said.
Niira allowed him to fly toward the smell. There wasn't much they could do for the battle anyway. Without Niira to control him, Yinwu could very well hurt as much as he helped.
A couple ridges north, the dragon stopped, hovering. There was another army moving southward, to the scene of battle. It was moving quickly. Very quickly.
Niira's blood froze. The soldiers carried the emblem of Phoenix. "No..." No...how can this be?
As the army came down the slope of a mountain, she began to get an idea of its size. She had thought the army in the valley was huge. This one was bigger. Twice as big, five times, ten times...she couldn't tell exactly. The soldiers kept coming, flooding over the slopes, never ending.
Not even Yinwu had anything to say.
Quickly, Niira turned her dragon around, hurrying him back to the battle. If the Reisch's army and the Easterners were caught here, the resistance to Phoenix would effectively end. The dragoons may still remain, but even they would have difficulty getting through this unmeasurable army. The Serdian army would stand no chance at all; the combined armies of all the human kingdoms wouldn't do much better.
Yinwu sped into the valley, sending a telepathic message about the situation to the other dragons. Niira found Lionn; guiding Yinwu to him, she leaned over and shouted "Get out! It's a trap!"
Lionn looked from her to her dragon, unsure of what to do.
"There's another army coming! Retreat!"
He understood that. Nodding, he shouted to his men in the Eastern tongue.
Yinwu was already looking for the Reisch. He was easier to find, as he was on the outskirts of the battle. "Back again already?" he called to Niira.
"We have to get out of here!"
"What? Why?"
"Phoenix sent another army. This one was just a lure, the other one is the real thing and if we don't get out of here soon they're going to have us trapped!"
The Reisch stared at her. "That's impossible."
"That's what I thought too."
"How big is this army?"
"I don't know. Huge. Way bigger than this one."
The feliform did not like that. "How far away are they?"
"About two ridges over, when we were up there." Niira pointed to the northern rim of the valley.
"Damn." The Reisch was muttering to himself. For him to have not seen this as a trap, and not to have have noticed an army sneaking up on his rear, was a terrible mistake beyond compare. He urged his gryff forward, sounding a retreat to his troops.
Yinwu turned skyward again, asking Niira where they should go now.
"There's not much more we can do here...we'll be destroyed." She clung tightly to his neck. "We need to get back to Bale."
The dragon made a snide comment about how pleased Niira's father would be to hear this news.
"Shut up. Just tell the others."
Yinwu did so, and announced that Meru and Hafkitta would stay behind to protect the Reisch's army and Lionn's men on their way to Bale. Alakyl would be following Niira, as it was far too dangerous for her to stay here.
"Too dangerous? Why is it any more dangerous for her than the rest of us?"
Yinwu gave a low growl, his was of expressing a shrug. He often did that not because he didn't know the answer to a question, but because he simply didn't want to tell Niira. He ignored her repeated pleas to reveal the answer, instead focusing on flying back to Bale.