A Dragon Born (25 page)

"It seems an old enemy has taken to the field, Draxis. The Elven Guard rides for Kandara."

"Elves? The mages told me about these creatures," Draxis said. "They are tree people, who live in the forests to the west of the great river."

"The elven are loathesome creatures, but they are fierce warriors, Draxis. This will be a true test for your Darga warriors. You are to engage the elves."

"I had hoped to fight Duke Boric," Draxis said. "Can the regular soldiers not deal with these creatures?"

In a movement so fast that Draxis could barely see it, Cerric rushed toward him and smashed him in the side of the head with his open hand. The impact of the king's hand was like stone from a catapult and it sent the half-Darga skidding sideways across the floor of the command tent where he landed hard on the ground.

"Do not question my orders," Cerric growled and the others stood silently in shock.

Mirdel and Berant shuffled uncomfortably where they stood and Calexis fought the urge to rush to her son's side, to see if he was injured, but she was relieved when Draxis slowly pushed himself from the floor. None of them had ever seen Cerric move in such a way, and though Calexis knew the king who had become a god was strong, she had not imagined how powerful he truly was. Draxis felt like the bones in his face had nearly been shattered and he realized that Cerric had only hit him with an open hand. If the king was truly that powerful, his seeming nonchalance toward the war became more understandable. Draxis regained his feet and brushed himself off. He inclined his head to the king.

"As you command, your highness," Draxis said. "With your permission, I will leave at once."

"Granted," Cerric said. Draxis pulled the thick paper cylinder from his belt and held it out to the god-king.

"These are the reports on the walls of Kandara, sent by Nathas and Lord Kaleb for Lords Mirdel and Berant."

"Very good," Cerric said, taking it from Draxis then he walked away from him, tossing the materials to Mirdel.

Draxis nodded to his mother then exited the tent, thinking of only one thing; how he too could gain such power as Cerric possessed. Nothing would please him more to strike down the god-king, but for now, he would do as he was commanded and kill these Elves who dared the battlefield. He was only a few paces away from the command pavilion when a horn sounded and he saw several of his Darga racing through the encampment toward him, with his Darga subordinate, Meznak in the lead. The few Xallan and Maramyrian soldier who tried to stop them were easily cast aside by the much larger, stronger Darga warriors.

"What is the meaning of this, Meznak?" Draxis hissed and he glanced over his shoulder to see Cerric and the Generals, along with his mother, appear from the command tent.

"Lord Draxis," Meznak said, bending on his knee. "The soldiers in the forward camp move to the city without us. Captain General Nathas came to us after you and said for the Darga to await your orders. Why did you not give us the orders? Will the Darga not fight in this battle?"

"What is happening?" Cerric asked as he walked up.

"The forward army is moving toward the city," Draxis said. "My Darga thought it prudent to alert me to this. Have orders been given that I am unaware of?"

"No, Nathas was told to await my orders," Cerric said. "Draxis, find out what he is doing and send one of your Darga back with a report."

"Yes, your highness," Draxis said. "Come." He gathered the Darga and, together, they made their way through the camp, stopping for a moment for Draxis to gather his horse, then they made for the forward encampment, the Darga on foot, running almost as quickly as their leader's horse.

Cerric watched the half-Darga making their way across the open fields toward the forward encampment and he could see the lines of soldiers moving toward the city ahead. He wondered what Nathas was doing, then he looked to the west and saw movement. Cerric closed his eyes for a moment, and he reached out with his power, searching. He saw a group of his soldiers, on horseback riding west. Where were they going? He drew deeper from his power, pushing the limits of his sight. He knew they were there, somewhere, and no matter how hard they tried, they were no longer in the protection of their forest and they could not hide from him. He found them among the trees, waiting for the riders, his soldiers. It did not make sense until he felt something else, something he had not expected. Cerric's eyes snapped open.

"It seems the elves have moved faster than I thought," he said. "Where are the mages?"

"They are working with the builders, overseeing the completion of the siege engines, your highness," Mirdel said.

"Are the engines complete?"

"They have been built, yes."

"Then have them brought forward, and have the mages to disperse throughout the army, one mage for every hundred soldiers. Assign them to units.

"But your highness," Berant said, "I thought we were going to have the mages work directly with the seige engines."

"Are you questioning my orders?" Cerric asked.

"No, highness," Berant said. "Not at all. I only seek to understand that I may better serve you."

"You will understand soon enough," Cerric told him. "Now carry out my commands. I will wait no longer. We attack Kandara at once."

"Yes, your highness," Mirdel said, throwing a look at Berant.

"As you command, your highness," Berant said.

*****

Ariana and the Elven forces saw the approaching riders, a contingent of a hundred Maramyrian cavalry, heading straight for the trees where they waited and they prepared for an attack, but the riders stopped short of their position and one, who looked as though he was their commander rode forward toward the trees. He whistled a pattern that sounded like a birdcall of some kind.

"He is a Ranger," Keira said, but I do not know him. Ariana strained to see the man through the leaves of the trees and she recognized his face.

"His name is Kaleb Alaran, the Lord of White Falls," Ariana said. "Pells said he was the second in command under Captain Nathas."

"White falls? I have heard of this place," Keira said. "It is mentioned in the old histories."

"Generations ago, White Falls was the home of a powerful duchy, ruled by House Alaran, one of the old royal lines of Maramyr. They lost most of their lands during the Great War, though White Falls remains. Kaleb is one of the last Lords of Alaran."

"If he is a Ranger, he keeps to the old ways," Keira said. "I will ride out and make sure of his intentions."

Keira rode out of the trees toward the Maramyrian lord and Quenta moved his horse up to where Keira had been, next to Ariana.

"Do we plan to sit here all day or shall we ride for Kandara?"

"Quenta," Ariana smiled at him even though she knew he could not see her face. "I believe this is the escort Pells said would be sent for us."

Keira confirmed it with a whistle and waved for the elves to join her. Kaleb was surprised at the number of Elven riders that emerged from the small stand of trees. He had met an elf once, when he was a boy, back when King Gregor was still alive, and he remembered seeing the Elven Guard with their strange and fearsome masks, but he had forgotten just how intimidating they were. The elven riders rode slowly from the trees and stopped in formation, just short of Kaleb's own riders, and two of the elves rode forward, a male and a female by the different styles of their armor. They reined their horses in next to him and the elven Ranger named Keira then the female slid her mask to the side of her face.

"Lord Kaleb," Ariana said. "It is very good to see you."

"Princess Ariana," Kaleb said, at first smiling at her. "It is even better to see you alive and well."

"Yes, despite my uncle Cerric's great determination, I yet survive," she said. "What news from Kandara?"

"We have been camped outside the walls for several days, waiting on Cerric's orders. We have been told that we are waiting for the siege engines to be built, but Nathas and I suspect there may be some other reason for the delay. Whatever the case, all that has changed now that word has spread through the army of your return."

"I am glad," Ariana said. "I would like nothing more than for this war to end immediately."

"That might be difficult, your highness," Kaleb said. "Many of the soldiers want proof before they disobey Cerric, but even then, there's the matter of Kandara. There are over fifty thousand soldiers here and many of them are Xallan as well as several thousand Darga. I doubt Cerric and Calexis will call off the attack, and there may even be some among our own ranks who remain loyal to your uncle, so it puts us in a difficult position, but we have a few ideas, but what happens next is up to you. You are the rightful Queen, after all."

"Tell me what you and Nathas propose, Kaleb," Ariana said.

"Nathas has already moved the advance forces away from the battlefield, but Cerric still has the larger force under his command. We can either order our people to quit the field and return to Maramyr, or we can stay and fight Cerric and Calexis. However, that will mean a lot of chaos since it essentially means that the army will be fighting itself."

"What of the other soldiers?" Quenta asked. "Why would they remain loyal to Cerric, the usurper?"

"They do not yet know of Ariana's return," Kaleb said. "We thought to move the advance troops away before Cerric could learn of it. No doubt he would deny it or try to suppress such information."

"Kaleb," Ariana said. "This is Quenta, he is in command of the Elven Guard."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Quenta," Kaleb said. "You are Solari, if I am not mistaken."

"You are well informed," Quenta said.

"I try to stay abreast of what is going on in the world," Kaleb replied then he turned to Ariana. "What say you, highness?"

"As much as I would want for everyone to return home," Ariana said, thinking carefully, "Kandara needs our help and while it is Cerric's fault all of this has happened, it is my responsibility. We will stay, Kaleb, and we must find some way that I can present myself to the rest of our soldiers and hope they will leave Cerric's side and return to me."

"That was what Nathas and I thought you might say, so we are repositioning our people to better defend Kandara, which will be easier once they know that we are now their defenders. Might I recommend that, before you address the main army, you have a meeting with the Kandarans? It would not do for them to attack us."

"Yes, of course," Ariana agreed.

"Then we had best hurry," Kaleb said. "No doubt Cerric is wondering why a large portion of his army is moving on its own. They are positioned to provide cover for your entry to Kandara, but it would be encouraging for the soldiers if they could see your face when you ride past."

"I will wear my mask like this," Ariana said. "They will see enough."

"As you wish, highness."

*****

Atop the walls, Borrican and his uncle watched the forward portion of the army that was camped outside the city begin moving to the west. At first, they worried that the Maramyrians had found some weakness in the city walls, but then the soldiers stopped and their ranks spread into a long line only a few rows deep.

"It makes no sense," Boric said.

"Perhaps Cerric is playing games," Borrican said. "It would be like him to try to mock us in some way."

"I don't think so." Boric gazed out along the line of Maramyrian troops that stretched out to the west. "Everything they have done so far has been very normal. Cover the exits, secure the supply lines, build some siege engines, all of which they have done, and the next step is to bombard the walls and do whatever they can to drive us out to the field so they can butcher us. The only other curious thing is how long they have taken without attacking the walls, though it could be taking them longer than usual to construct the siege engines they are undoubtedly building. As for moving a part of the army into this configuration, I think I see the reason for it now, but it still does not make any sense."

"What's that, uncle?" Borrican asked as he also saw movement in the distance.

"Riders, my boy," Boric told him. "They look to be Rangers and Elves. What I don't understand is why the Maramyrians are letting them through. It looks as though they have moved into position to protect them."

Borrican could see the Maramyrian lines beginning to return to their original configuration as the riders moved closer to the city. From the view atop the high parapet it did look very strange.

"I see," Boric said, having used his power so he could see a little further. He started laughing. "Well, this is excellent news. Borrican, it appears that your lady friend will be coming for a royal visit."

"My lady friend?"

"If my eyes don't deceive me, and they never do, that is Princess Ariana dressed up as a member of the Elven Guard and riding toward us," Boric said with a grin. "Open the gate!"

Boric ran down the stairs toward the gates, shouting orders for the guards to drop the bridge and prepare to receive guests. Borrican stood atop the wall for a few moments more, trying to see the faces of the riders, but it looked like they were wearing masks of some kind, all except for the one who rode near the front. As they came closer to the city, he could see that the rider was a woman and that her mask was pushed to one side of her face.  He now recognized the other half of her face and Borrican raced down the stone steps after his uncle.