Legon Ascension (3 page)

Legon spoke. “We are planning on disrupting the inner working of the Cona Empire with raiding parties and a propaganda campaign.”

Telunone inclined his head, indicating for Legon to continue.

“I’m trying to think of how to explain this correctly,” he paused. “We want to make people in the Empire think twice about their current government. We will do this by sewing discord throughout the land.”

Telunone pickup unnaturally quickly and looked confused. “You want to polarize the land?”

Legon pressed on. “Yes, and then take advantage of that.”

“Well, it won’t be easy with the Iumenta Dragons spread throughout the Empire like they are. You may be able to sway a few small towns and co-ops, but I’m not sure what good that will do.”

Sydin started to talk. “Well there is more than that. If you remember, that’s how the Iumenta took over in the first place.”

Telunone thought for a moment before responding. “Yes, so won’t they see that coming then?”

Sydin smiled and explained. “Ah, you forget, when the Iumenta took over we had no dragons in the human lands swaying people’s thoughts; that is the only way they stay in control.”

Now Sasha could see the wheels turning in Telunone’s head. “So, if we can weaken that then we could have a chance of turning the people against them, making the fight simpler. Yes, I see where you are going with this…” he looked down at the table thinking. “We will also need to pull as many dragons away from the cities and towns as possible.”

Sasha couldn’t help herself. “But how?”

“Easy my dear, we are a bigger threat than a bunch of angry farmers. If we increase the presence of our ascended along the borders, they will in turn send more of their own. In fact, they will be forced to send most of their military to the borders, which will cause quit a fuss if we don’t attack.”

Iselin chimed in. “If we keep fainting, then they won’t be able to justify pulling their forces back. But conversely, they won’t be able to justify the cost of matching our numbers in the sky. They must be stretching themselves thin trying to control the bulk of the Cona lands as it is. And that’s not even counting those ascended that keep Impa air safe.”

“Yes, that’s a good point too,” Telunone said.

Sasha was getting part of the Elves’ overall strategy now. The Elves were slowly working to kill off as many dragons as possible. If they upped those efforts by agitating the Iumenta, then there would be fewer dragons in the rest of the Empire to keep the unstable population under control and then…

Legon finished Sasha’s thought allowed “civil war.” She heard the bitterness in his tone, but there was also resignation to what needed to be done.

“Maybe not…the Iumenta will try and hold the cities, but the rest of the land will be out of their control. When we do invade, we shouldn’t encounter much resistance. In fact, if done right, we will receive aid,” Telunone said, smiling. “Legon, House Evindass truly is lucky to have you as its head. You are like your father.”

Legon looked a little uneasy at the compliment, but happy at the same time. Sasha noticed that Iselin was suppressing a smile. She reached out with her mind, “What are you smiling at?”

Iselin responded in Sasha’s mind, “Isn’t it obvious? If this works then we may have a chance of winning without having to wipe out all of humanity in the Empire.”

“Was that an option?” Sasha asked.

Iselin answered, “Eventually, yes, it would have been. Well, maybe not all of humanity…the resistance of course would have been saved, but if the Iumenta hold up with us in the number of dragons, then it would have turned into the War of Generations all over again.”

“And now what’s different?” Sasha asked.

“If this works, they will only have enough dragons to hold their own lands, and it won’t be nearly as bad.”

“I don’t understand.” And she didn’t. This wasn’t making sense to her. Sasha knew dragons were important, but just how important?

“You will, don’t worry,” was all Iselin would say.

Sasha went back to paying attention to the meeting, but it looked like it was over. Telunone couldn’t do anything with contacting his head of house, and the other houses would need to be in on this as well. It was going to take a concentrated effort. As for Barnin’s unit, they had it. Enrich wouldn’t care about one unit. Telunone wouldn’t even have to pull any strings to get them. As the conversation slipped in to trivial and non- important things, Sasha found herself wondering what the Elf capital was going to be like, and what her parents were doing right now. Did they know about the royal guard? Did they think they were dead? Sasha wondered if Arkin could get a message to them, then pushed the thought away. It wasn’t worth the risk. What if it got intercepted? What would she say anyway? “Hey mother, hey father, I’m a lady of a great Elvin house now. Hope all is well, love and kisses.” She shook her head, chuckling at the thought. It didn’t take much longer for them to leave, and when they did she felt an unexpected surge of excitement; they were doing it, this was actually happening…

* * * * *

Legon made his way to Iselin’s apartment feeling excited. Since their arrival at the dome a few weeks ago, Iselin would spend time in the afternoons working with Legon and Sasha. Now that Telunone was running the dragon dome, Sydin had time to work with Legon and Sasha. Most days Sasha went with Sydin for one-on-one training and Legon with Iselin.
 

Iselin answered the door and Legon’s heart gave a slight skip. Her ears easily being able to hear the sound, she smiled.
 

“Good to see you too, come on in,” Iselin said warmly.

He was past feeling awkward whenever she noticed something like this; it was just part of being an Elf. It also helped that every time he saw her he was able to see her cheeks flush a bit when she heard his heart, so he thought he was good. Iselin’s loose white skirt wafted as she dashed into her bedroom. She was back a moment later and seemed a bit shorter to him than normal. He cocked an eyebrow.

“Oh, I’m not wearing heels. We are going for a walk in the valley today, so hence the skirt. The normal ones just aren’t as comfortable for sitting in a field.” Iselin said, playing with the white pleats.
 

“So what are we going to be doing today?” Legon asked.

Iselin smiled widely. “We are going to make you a proper Elf.” She winked at him.

Legon smiled. “Oh wow, already? Should I have brought a bottle of Poti?”

It took Iselin a moment before she smacked his arm and laughed. “No, not like that,
 

you deviant. You’re going to learn how to make plants grow.”

They made their way out of the dome and down its side, moving toward the far end of the valley, away from the humans and Elves. Legon was starting to get used to the heat and the sun felt good as they trapped across the valley to a small hill. Iselin sat down on the top of the hill. He did the same, sitting next to her. Legon couldn’t help but wonder at how graceful Iselin was, even when plopping down on the ground. She stretched out her legs and ran her hand over the grass. As she did this, little pink and white wildflowers burst into bloom. Legon marveled at how little effort the gesture seemed to take.

Iselin spoke. “All Venefica can make plant life grow but not to the same level that we Elves can, and not so easily. Also, all Elves can do this whether or not they can use magic.” She placed her hand on the ground and a little shoot of grass grew and widened into the shape of a cup that she then picked up. “But altering plants is not as easy. It takes time to learn and only Elves are capable of truly mastering it. Iumenta have dedicated centuries to the task, but cannot attain the same level you will within a few months.”

“Why is that? I thought the Iumenta didn’t want to control plants like we do,” Legon said.

“They don’t, but over time after they lost the ability they found that there are times when they need it. For example, you know that the dragon dome makes energy and that’s what powers the crystals, right?”
 

Legon nodded his head, showing he knew.

Iselin went on. “Well, the Iumenta domes are stone and ceramic, like all their buildings. The crystals in these buildings need energy, so they grow a kind of algae that they can harness energy from to charge the crystals.” Iselin placed her hand on the ground again and this time a little green tube formed that spilled water into the cup. She took a sip. “You see now the many practical uses for this ability and it takes little effort. Indeed, children can do what I just did.”

Legon was amazed and said so. “That’s incredible. Is it hard to learn?” he asked.

Iselin paused for another sip. “For you it will be a little because things like this are easier to learn when you’re young, but we will start with the basics. Like just making a plant grow in its natural form and then move to altering it to what you want.”

And with that Legon started learning how to make plants grow to his will.

Chapter Two

Execution

“The power of security, even if only a falsehood, should never be underestimated. Nations have fallen from less.”

-The Exiled Captain (Author Unknown)

Barnin stepped into the old stable-turned briefing room. As he walked, little plumes of dust erupted where he stepped, adding to the twirling bits of cobweb and debris playing in the shafts of midday light making their way through the gaps in the ceiling. He sucked in a breath of rain-moistened air, letting the mustiness of the room fill him. Barnin always liked this room; it was dark, dank and dingy, yet somehow relaxing, the perfect setting for preparing one’s self for the chaos of battle. The men were standing around waiting for Barnin to arrive and tell them what to do. This made Barnin feel good. He liked being in charge, and he was good at it. He took his place at the front of the room with Ankle on his right, crossing his arms. This was Ankle’s standard “it’s time to be quiet and listen to mommy and daddy” stance. The men stopped what they were doing and looked at Barnin, a few in the front kneeling. Y
ou really need to get some chairs for this place… maybe Legon…
Barnin thought and dismissed it right away. It was his turn to give to house Evindass, not the other way around.
 

“Listen up, our command has been transferred. We’re now directly under the command of Telunone of House Paldin.”

Barnin waited for a moment. The men weren’t mad. Everyone wanted to be under Elvin command. Sydin was the best commander any had seen and Telunone wasn’t bound to disappoint either. “We were recommended by House Evindass,” Barnin added.

There were happy nods now. Everyone liked their new armor and after Legon and his guard wiped out the imperial Calvary in front of Barnin’s unit, Evindass earned a lot of loyalty and respect.
 

Barnin went on. “We are going to be doing some raiding of supply trains. We all know that this is not the safest work to do, but we’re the best, got it!”

One of the new boys from Manton huffed, obviously not convinced that raiding supply routes would be unsafe.

Ankle was on it. “You there, Joshers, right?” The boy nodded.

The kid couldn’t be over seventeen. His round face still looked like it had baby fat. His brown eyes bore into Ankle; he looked haughty and overly confident. He would have a hard time.

Ankle pressed on. “Is there something you would like to add?”
 

Josher’s tone was petulant when he answered. “I just didn’t,” he sighed, “up to go make someone’s dinner late, if you know what I mean. I think I’m a bit more skilled than that.”

Yep, this kid would have a hard time. When Josher spoke he looked at the other men, expecting them to agree with him and look up to him for his boldness. Some of the other new guys looked a little like they agreed with him, but most looked down. All of the vets shook their heads in disappointment; it was always trying breaking in new people and keeping them alive long enough for them to be of any help.

Ankle didn’t miss a beat. “So you think that this is going to be easy, do ya?” He didn’t wait for Josher to respond. “Have you ever been outside the Cornis mountains? Have you seen the wide open plains out there? Sure, we can see trains coming from miles off, but so can the trains and their guards. Did you think of that? Did you know that supply trains are what keeps an army afloat, and therefore something to be heavily guarded? No, I bet not, and while we’re out in those plains behind enemy lines do you think the grass will hide you from dragon eyes?”

This got Joshers attention. Ah yes, how quickly people forgot about dragons. It was easy to do, really. The Elvin dragons were a benefit to society and friendly, but the Iumenta ones that would be hunting them were not.

Joshers spoke again with a bit more respect. “The dragons will be looking for us? I thought they just went after the Elvin dragons.”

“Yeah, they just ignore enemy units as they fly overhead. Yeah, good point, great thinking kid. I don’t even know why I’m explaining this. You’ve got it figured out, sorry sir, go on with your briefing,” Ankle retorted.

Barnin held in a smile. The seed was planted in the new ones’ minds. They would have their eyes on the sky all the time now. In truth, dragons were a threat, but not a large one. They would relay information back to their command, but if you protected your mind and hid your weapons, they normally didn’t investigate too much. Still, if dragons were close, that was a bad thing. If they suspected anything was amiss, they could cast spells that gave you away, and then they might just decide to take care of you themselves. That happened a lot more then people wanted to think about. The only real comfort was that the deeper you got into enemy territory, Iumenta dragons were more concerned about dealing with Elvin dragons and didn’t pay the strictest attention to the ground. Rumor had it that over the last few years the Elves had been stepping up their air presence along their own borders in addition to the one separating the Cona Republic and Cona Empire. Barnin hoped that tonight the Iumenta would be busy.