Varna Ch. 10

- "My brother cannot be captured." she told our assembled allies. "Merik or Nathal would have him killed. Both have tried, already. The worst that could happen to me would be a forced marriage - hardly a fate to be desired, but significantly less final than death."

Sanatha took a deep breath. "My brother trusts me, and has offered me a partnership in this venture. Surely I can speak for both of us, in the east? Would that serve, do you think, Lord Dergun?"

Dergun was left stranded. He hadn't expected to be put in this position. He looked to me for guidance.

I nodded.

Sanatha was right: I could stay in the west, and woo the elves and the fey, while she went to the east. If we were truly partners - as I'd promised her - then I had to grant her a significant role in our campaign (even if we hadn't fully worked out what that campaign entailed).

Then I was shocked as Durgat stood up.

- "And I will go with her." he said.

***

My great council had not worked out as I'd planned. My sister wanted to go east; I'd come around to seeing her point of view. But now my former and present bodyguard, the half-orc Durgat, was eager to go with her.

I tried to think of a better solution. But even with all the aether I could gather, I couldn't think of one. There were only a few people that I would trust to look after Sanatha - and most of those were desperately needed here.

It's wasn't a matter of sending a force across Varna. Anything more than ten men would draw unnecessary attention. Stealth and speed would be better. But if they ran into twenty or more inquisitive enemies, they would be captured.

- "I can help." said Rhigen."

- "How so?" I was skeptical, to say the least.

Glasha's father bowed his head. "I know that you think I've betrayed your trust, in that we tested your magic skill." he said. "But if I were to accompany your sister and a small party ... a very small party ... I believe that I could help them win through to the east."

I didn't quite know how to answer him.

- "How could you do that, Rhigen?"

Glasha's father smiled at me. "I have my ways."

Sanatha would have Dergun's local knowledge, the half-orc mountain, Durgat, for her physical protection, and the fey Rhigen, to conceal them with guile and magic.

- "I'll be as safe as you'd be." she said.

- "I know. It's just ..."

- "It's just that you're jealous." my sister laughed. "It's my turn to do something that helps us. Stop worrying, and spend some time with Glasha and Saska."

Off they went. Dergun, Sanatha, Durgat and Rhigen. Two humans, a half-orc, and a fey.

***

I worried far more than Sanatha would have liked. If they were captured by Nathal's forces, my sister would survive, to be used as a marital prize for one of my brother's allies, but her three companions would likely be executed out of hand.

Saska and I were spending nights together again, but she insisted that I spend every third of fourth night with Glasha. On the first of those occasions, my lover was too tired to make love.

- "Just hold me." she said.

I knew these signs. "Glasha ... what have you been doing?"

- "Did you think that you were the only one who was worried about Sanatha? I've been checking in on her every second night."

- "What? Time-walking?"

- "They crossed the river yesterday, just after dark. Not all of the boat captains are devoted to Nathal's cause. But there is talk that something major is in the offing - so we should prepare for the worst."

That was wonderful news. But now I shifted my worry to Glasha.

- "You didn't push yourself, did you? How far can you time walk?"

- "Distance doesn't seem to matter, Tauma. It's a question of how well I know the person, and how close we are. I can find Sanatha quite easily. She's fine - and so are the others."

I was relieved to hear it - but I was still concerned that Glasha had been over-exerting herself.

"I'm tired. Not exhausted. I don't have a headache. What I do have is an overwhelming desire for my lover to hold me close, and to tell me that he loves me."

- "Until I die." I said.

Apparently, that was a good answer.

***

I tried hard to model the disparate elements of our fighting force into some kind of unified whole. Should the need arise, we might have to defend ourselves against a serious attack by Nathal or Merik. Should we pull back into the forests - where our mounted men might not be able to go - or contest the enemy's advance?

Yazgash and her half-orcs were the ultimate heavy infantry. Every one of them was worth at least two humans. We had fifty humans on foot to support them, under Gerdar Tanle. These men were willing, but I could see that they would be easily overwhelmed by superior numbers.

We had fifty mounted men, under Hurmas, Sezima, and Azren. I would have to juggle the command assignments, but given their numbers, there was only so much I could ask of them.

And then there were the elves. Enneiros was important, but everything depended on how many archers Alissara could deliver, on any given day. I have to admit that the elves were beginning to commit themselves, but I wasn't always sure whether I could count on 125 archers ... or 225.

- "If we are attacked," said Alissara, "I expect 200 to 250 will fight. But if we are moving east, or north, on the offensive ... I cannot predict how many will come."

The elves were not servants, or mercenaries. Every single male and female considered the situation, the leadership and their stated goals, and then made their own decisions. It was difficult, and sometimes frustrating, but I had to admire them. Each one of them made up their own mind. We were lucky to have as many as we did.

I worked hard, but found time for Saska, and for Glasha. My wife wanted a child, but felt guilty if I neglected my mistress. My mistress was usually exhausted from time-walking, and encouraged me to attend to my wife.

- "You're my hero." said Sezima. "Tell me your secrets."

***

I don't know if it was a turning point, but Naevys asked to see me. To be more precise, he asked me to come and see him. There was no reason for me to antagonize the fey, so I agreed.

We met in the field where I'd performed the telekinesis for him and Rhigen. I was fairly sure that his choice of location was no fluke.

- "How can I be of service to you, Naevys?" I asked.

Naevys was backed by six other fey (a slight majority of the ten who'd arrived with him).

- "The question is, Lord Tauma ... how can we assist you?"

I didn't answer Naevys, because the moment he finished speaking ... four dozen more fey appeared behind him.

I hadn't the slightest inkling that they were there - and suddenly they were. Nearly fifty fey, brandishing bows ... and manifesting in their actual forms ...

Many of them looked like exotic elves: some were impossibly thin, or incredibly tall. There were also small, human-sized trees, little shrubs, flowering plants ... you might have called them dryads or hamadryads, or pixies ... or even - Goddesses ... there was one with horns and a leering mouth, and the bent legs and cloven hooves of a goat. To make matters worse, he/ it? winked at me.

The fey.

- "We have decided to support you, Lord Tauma." said Naevys. "You may be the Varyan. You may not. But in the meantime ... we will help you win your war, if we can."

***

Naevys' decision to join us had two major consequences. First, it seemed to help many elves to make up their own minds. If the fey were coming out of their long isolation, ready to risk their lives, then matters must have reached a critical juncture. The elves who had held back, and those who'd vacillated now realized that this might be the last, best chance to defend their home lands.

Alissara could now count on fully 200 elven archers. And with the incredible abilities of the fey, I could begin planning in earnest to meet and repel an attack.

Properly sited, the elves could do considerable damage. I could have wished for hundreds more infantry, to protect them, but I would have to rely on Yazgash and Gerdar Tanles' men. In a pinch, our horsemen could fight on foot. That meant that I had to identify locations where our small number of infantry could hold favorable ground - which also provided clear lines of sight to allow the archers to fire.

And then there were the fey. Just over fifty fighters, most of them archers, who could vanish at will. The possibilities were endless: they could appear out of thin air on the enemy's flank, and deliver a volley of arrows before immediately disappearing again. Or they could be split into smaller groups, to suddenly materialize behind enemy forces in multiple spots, creating confusion and perhaps even panic.

Naevys warned me of their limitations.

- "That is powerful magic." he said. "We can only do it so many times before we tire. And though we may seem to be invisible, we are still corporeal beings: we are not transparent, and we block the light. Some of us ... smell. Worst of all, though, the magic that lets us hide is communal."

- "Communal?"

- "It is a collaborative effort. Only a few fey can hide themselves. For most, it is an illusion they create as a group. Everyone contributes. But if some of the participants become exhausted ... or worse, if some are injured or killed ..."

- "Then the illusion fails?"

- "For everyone." said Naevys.

I remembered, then, why Rhigen had not brought his daughter home, to be with his people. Glasha could not participate in this type of magic, and the fey could not hide her if she was not part of the illusion.

I had to understand these limitations. The fey were not all-powerful. Our numbers were limited. We dared not fight in the open; we would need a strong defensive position, secure flanks, and a safe line of retreat.

If Sanatha was able to raise troops for us in the east ... 150 more men would be a valuable addition. We also had money to pay more half-orcs, if they were available. Of course, these hopes all depended on Dergun being right.

So many ifs ...

***

Weeks passed. Gerdar Tanle and I trained the different parts of our little army, getting the disparate elements accustomed to working together. I created a simple set of visual signals, using a small banner. Osha the former ostler was delighted to become my banner bearer. He had no military training at all, but he could ride, and he'd already proved his cleverness and loyalty.

Mindful of my earlier error with Gerdar Azren, when I'd let him position our mounted troops out of sight, I also evolved a similar set of signals using a hunting horn. They were limited, of course - but much better than nothing.

Most of my days also involved searching for good locations where our little army could make a stand, or set up an ambush.

Meanwhile, Glasha continued to time-walk, and to follow Sanatha's progress.

- "They've reached Calep." she told me. "Tir Caenog is there."

Two days later, though, she seemed more concerned. "Durgat is no longer with them. He's gone to the Red Knees."

- "Alone?" I said. "Wait - how do you know? Are you following Durgat as well? Glasha - you can't do this. You'll exhaust yourself."

- "No, Tauma. Sanatha knows that I am watching her as often as I can. I told her that I would, before she left. She knows that I mostly look for her at dawn, or late in the evening. She's a very clever girl, your sister: she has gotten into the habit of speaking to Durgat or to Dergun at those times, telling them things that I'm sure they already know."

- "For your benefit, you mean?"

- "That's exactly what I mean."

I kissed her. "You're both clever girls."

***

Less than a week later, Glasha brought us news of movements in the east - the first stirrings that would well and truly launch the War of Succession. Of course, it quickly became known by a more powerful and popular name: the Brothers' War.

- "Toran's army is on the move. Tir Moksha and Tir Beksha are with him. They passed by Calep two days ago. They sent an envoy to call on Tir Caenog and Gerdar Dergun to join them."

- "How many men do they have?" asked Gerdar Tanle. "Toran's force, I mean."

- "Sanatha said almost 400. She didn't answer their envoy directly - she didn't know if they were aware that she was in Calep. Tir Caenog sent a reply, asking for time to consider. But Toran's army didn't wait. They moved off to the north."

- "North?" said Sezima. There was only one place to go, north of Calep.

- "Whydah." I said. "They're marching to join Aludar?"

- "There's more." said Glasha. "Sanatha said that she would be ready to move soon - and that she would bring you an army. Twice what you expected - and perhaps more."

- "What?" We'd been hoping for 100 men, and possibly more half-orcs. Say, 150. But Sanatha was promising twice that many? What had happened?

This could change everything for us. With 300 more fighters, our army, we could match Merik or Nathal - and negotiate with Aludar as equals.

There were, though, two major obstacles. Between Sanatha and I, there lay the river Varna ... and the army of my brother Nathal.

***

Glasha continued to time-walk, but was unable to get much new information for us. It wasn't that she couldn't find Sanatha; it was the fact that my sister was on the move, sometimes on horseback, sometimes on foot.

Late at night, she was already asleep, tired out from a day on the march. At dawn, she couldn't just stay in one place for an hour, repeating herself over and over so that Glasha might hear her. Or perhaps she simply had nothing new to report to us.

My greatest fear was that Nathal would learn of Sanatha's whereabouts - or her intentions. His army was well over twice the size of her force (if not more). He had the advantage of interior lines on us, not to mention control of the river.

I asked Hurmas and Sezima to step up their patrols, to make sure that Nathal wasn't planning a pre-emptive strike on us - or on Sanatha. I had all of our force kept on alert, either to march to Sanatha's aid, or to retreat into the forests. Then I did something that I would have preferred not to: I asked Glasha to do magic for me.

- "Can you find Nathal, love? Can you time-walk and locate him?"

We might learn something valuable if she could. It would be more difficult for her - I knew that. She didn't know Nathal as well (who did?), nor did she like him, especially after he'd tried to have me killed.

But she had time-walked in order to look in on my father, whom she didn't particularly care for either. That was how we'd learned that he was dead.

- "I can try." she said. She didn't make light of the effort this would require. We both knew that it could be mentally draining and physically exhausting.

I made sure that Glasha was well-rested before she made the attempt, and then well-fed, too.

Saska and I were both worried; we stayed with Glasha while she drew on the aether, and went into a trance.

Now I wished that I had chosen a different school of magic, like luck - we could definitely use some now. Saska held my hand; she was still uncomfortable in the presence of magic, especially since she'd learned how much damage it could do to its practitioners.

- "She's strong." I whispered. "She can do this. She's done it many times before."

I was probably trying to reassure myself as much as I was comforting Saska. Glasha looked so defenceless, so vulnerable. Her eyes seemed to be moving, even though her eyelids were closed. Her lips moved, and she muttered something.

I moved quickly, to kneel beside her. I knew better than to touch her, but I wanted to hear what she was saying.

- "No ..." was all I heard.

Then her eyes flew open.

I jerked back, blinking like a startled owl. Glasha suddenly saw me looming over her, only two feet away.

- "AH!" she yelled.

I'd frightened her; she nearly stopped my heart.

Saska brought us back to the moment. "What did you see?" she asked.

- "Nathal." said Glasha. "He's in a boat. With many other boats nearby. They're moving with the current."

- "Downriver? They're moving north?" I said.

Nathal was going to Whydah.

*****

[1] See Chapter 2