Legon Restoration (38 page)

The Queen took her hand, leading her inside to a writing desk. On it was a map of the area. "I'm not so sure," the Queen said pointing to a spot on the map. "This is the Bailaya Dragon Dome, south of it is the Elves, to the north we are losing ground again. The only thing between us and the southern Elves is that dome," she said fingering the dot.

"But a dome has never fallen," Neelya said with confidence.

The Queen gave a weak laugh. "You are correct but this, like the Elves’ Dome outside of Manton, is merely a public relations piece, it is half the size of other domes. It isn't a matter of if it will fall, but how long it will take."

Neelya felt concern for the first time. "If it is so small couldn't the Elves just go around it?" she asked.

The Queen looked over at her, eyes sharp, "You do not pass a dome, that is the road to death, have you not studied the War of Generations?"
 

Neelya said that she had, but hadn't made it far into the histories yet.

The Queen relaxed saying, "Toward the end we had the Elves beat, we thought. We'd push them back to what they call the Mahj line. We took the last of our offensive strength and hit the line pushing past a dome, not taking it, just making it around. We thought ourselves genius, it was a straight shot to Seeon, but we were naive. The Elves let us pass that dome. Once our armies were well past it, the Elves jumped hundreds of Ascended to the dome. In so doing they cut off retreat and supplies. They came behind our army overwhelming it. In that battle we lost our ability to form an offense again. There were no survivors." Neelya tensed as the Queen went on, "The world saw that you do not pass a dome. A lesson the Elves remembered at Bellum Omega. Never forget," she said.
 

The Queen changed tact, asking Neelya to retrieve some paperwork, the night’s reflections over. Neelya gladly did as she was asked; thinking about what the Queen had told her.
 

* * * * *

Emma found herself with nothing to do for a while and was walking around the building. Sasha was hard at work having made some discoveries that she thought could aid the immediate war effort. Sasha had Edling with her, along with the rest of the team; many had been going without sleep, so intense was their focus. As for Emma, she had a fairly good grasp on what they were doing but research wasn't really her job. She found herself most days acting as a messenger for Sasha, with the other Houses. She saw Ankle standing next to a window, looking out it.
 

She came up behind him, not really trying to sneak up, but he still jumped when she touched him. His hand went to the handle of his sword, the blade sliding part way out of the sheath.

Emma jumped back. "Ankle it's me!" she said scared.

He breathed out; grabbing his chest, "Emma I am so sorry you caught me off guard..." he trailed off.

"I'm wearing heels on a marble floor, how off guard could you be?" she asked concerned and a little miffed.

She took him in, his face was droopy, his eyes with bags underneath.
You should be looking better after a month of being here. "
Ankle, since you aren't doing a really great job of guarding, why don't you walk with me for awhile and keep me company," she said.

He grimaced, "I don't think that's a good idea Em if the major finds out..."

"Finds out that you left your post at my request, he'll what?" she demanded, Emma did have a reasonable amount of power, but she didn't often use it.

"He could punish me and going off mission is punishable by death," Ankle said half hearted, he knew they he wasn't going to get executed for walking around a heavily guarded building.

Just then, the major in question came bouncing around the corner giving Ankle a stern look, "Why are you not at attention?!"
 

Before he could answer Emma turned coolly to the major, "Because I am talking to him and asked him to relax, also he is going to be spending the rest of his shift with me." She turned to Ankle, "Commander, come with me."
 

Ankle looked like he didn't know what to do and Emma turned back to the Major, whose mouth was open. He shut it with a snap. "You heard her man, get to!" he grunted, bowing to Emma and walking off.

Emma started down the hall, after a few moments Ankle came trotting up behind. "You like messing with him, don't you?" he asked, once they were out of ear shot.

She smiled, "I can't even tell you how much, maybe if he hadn't been so rude the first time I met him it'd be different."

She kept walking until they were at her office; she entered the room indicating for Ankle to take a seat at a table by the window. She grabbed two glasses and a bottle of Poti, taking the chair across from him. She poured the dark amber liquid in the glasses, handing him one raising it in a toast. "To House Evindass," she said.
 

"To House Evindass," Ankle repeated then took a sip.

He relaxed in his chair, glancing at a book on the table, picking it up, "Bellumm O-Omega?" he asked.

She sighed, content, "Yes, Bellum Omega, it means 'the end'."
 

"That sounds happy, what's it about?" he asked flipping the pages.

She smirked; the book was written in the Elf language Glosso. Ankle picked up on that, and placed the book on the table.
 

"It's about the last battle in the War of Generations, would you like to hear about it?" she asked.

He nodded.

"The Iumenta had the Elves against their own border once; they passed by the domes of the Mahj Line, a mistake that cost them nearly their entire army. You see at the time the war had been raging for nearly fifty years, both sides in truth were crippled beyond immediate repair. After that victory the Elves pushed the Iumenta back to their own border. The Impa army was so weak the Elves were all but able to run across the land. But the Impa had a Mahj Line of their own; though I don't know its name.

"The battle of Bellum Omega lasted for weeks, the Pawdin troops breaking like waves against a dragon dome. However, each wave got closer to victory. On the last day the Pawdin and Impa generals met in the field that separated the two armies. Neither general is alive today, but legend says that the Iumenta and Elf knew that the dome would fall, but that the losses it would cause would make it impossible for the Elves to take the rest of the Impa lands, nor would they be able to defend themselves. On the flip side the Impa would also take such losses that they too would not be able to fight the Pawdin Empire. They say that the generals looked out at their tattered armies, both defeated. There was going to be no winner, there couldn't be, both Impa and Pawdin Empires had lost the war. The two generals parted ways, the Elf telling his army to go home, to console their families and to rebuild what they could.
 

"After that the Iumenta were spotted only a hand full of times for nearly two thousand years." She looked at Ankle. "This is Bellum Omega, today some Elves feel that had they sacrificed their own nation the tyranny of the Impa wouldn't be here today," Emma said.

Ankle looked thoughtful for a moment. "Is that why they are so sad?" he asked.

"Who, the Elves? Yes, they feel the blood of our race is on their hands."

Ankle shook his head. "I've seen what our race does to each other, tyranny was going to be a part of this world regardless. How can they blame themselves for something that they could not control?" he asked looking at her.

"Don't you do the same?" she asked.

His face darkened, "What do you mean?"

"Mors," she whispered.

He puffed up a bit and then deflated, "You're right, but I see them whenever I close my eyes, I see her..."
 

"Rachel," Emma confirmed. "Do you write her?"
 

"Yes often, and she writes back. I'm glad she's in Seeon, safe."

Emma could feel her heart breaking for Ankle; this war was all but lost for him too, just as the War of Generations had been a loss for the Elves and Iumenta. But it didn't have to be a total loss she realized. She stood taking his hand. "Follow me," she said, flicking out her mind to an assistant. She led him down a hall, past Elf guards and into restricted areas. They entered a room with a high ceiling and a crystal the size of a bathroom mirror on the wall. She walked to it, flicking her mind out.

"Here," she said placing him in front of the crystal. An image appeared, a timid looking girl came into view, her eyes narrow and then wide with recognition
 

"Ankle!" she said.

"Rachel..." Ankle said he looked at Emma.

She patted his arm. "Take your time, I'll be waiting for you outside," she said.

As she walked she could hear the tension in his voice break, could hear the weight of guilt lift as he saw the now healthy girl. He could see that though he couldn't save them all, he could save at least the one and that's all that mattered.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Decisions

"Figure out what it is you want to accomplish and then get to work."

-The Wondering Way (Author Unknown)

Neelya tried to keep pace with the Queen while not losing the many papers she held in her arms. Next to the Queen was Parkas, his gate was confident if not slightly haggard. They entered the Queen’s study, Neelya placing the papers on the desk.
 

"This was a wise move Hoelaria," Parkas was saying.
 

It was a mark of their relationship that he could address the Queen by name.

"I think it is the only option we have at this point," the Queen growled, "if only they had dedicated more at the beginning." She started then shook her head, "No matter. Thank you Parkas, you may leave."

Parkas left, leaving Neelya and the Queen alone. "Is there anything else I can do for you Un Prose?" Neelya asked.

The Queen waved her hand dismissively, "Tell me Neelya, what have I accomplished today."
 

This was a test she needed to answer correctly, "By convincing the Heads of all the other Provinces to stay in Bailaya, you were able to force them into committing more resources to the war effort. Perhaps force is the wrong word."

"No I forced them, make no mistake, but in forcing them they are now in a live or die situation, at this point none can back out. What are the possible consequences of today?" she asked.

Neelya thought. "We will hold the Capital and drive the Pawdin Empire back," she said gazing into the fire, looking at the bronze dragons; the shifting fire light on them helped her focus. "We will likely lose most of the humans bred at Mors, however human numbers have been greatly depleting and the Mors units were never intended to hold off an Elvin assault. The Pawdin Empire will be forced now to match our numbers." She looked up at the Queen, "We will win the battle for the next few months, but will have a long road ahead," she said.

The Queen nodded, "A very long one indeed."

* * * * *

 
Legon stepped into a large conference room. To his right was Iselin, to his left was Sasha. Edling, Emma, Sydin and a few others trailed behind them. Seats filled the room, assistants from all the Great Houses in attendance, also in the wings were the Heads of many of the Houses Minor. In the center of the room, a round table stood with a crystal in it, and next to the table stood the Heads of every Great Elvin House. Legon took his place. As he stopped, a crystal the size of a marble floated to his lips, the same was at the lips of every Head of House; today, all in the room would hear clearly the discussions of the Houses.
 

The Heads of House introduced themselves. When everyone was done the Head of House Coreen looked at Legon, "Evindass, you have spear headed this war, you and your people have lead it with great competence. I'm afraid without your efforts we would still be standing idly by as the Iumenta executed their plans."

Legon nodded, "Thank you. Indeed, every House has put forth a great deal of effort in this war. Our armies stand at the brink of the Bailaya Dome, with its fall we are a few short miles from the Capital itself. Sadly, this may not be the victory we were all hoping for. The Iumenta have committed genocide, having left the Cona lands nearly void of life in their recent wake. We could have never hoped to capture all of the Impa leaders, but were hoping to maybe at least capture Hoelaria, so that she may stand trial. Today I tell you that those hopes have been dashed."

His words were met with concern and confusion and he went on, "We have recently learned that Hoelaria has brought all of her Heads of Province to Bailaya. Words from spies tell us that they have all committed to Summa Commendo." There were a few gasps from the wings.

* * * * *

Emma was confused and nudged Opes' mind. "What is Summa Commendo?" she asked.

He looked at her darkly. "During the War of Generations, each side committed nearly sixty percent of its population to combat, this is Summa Commendo. We will have to do likewise if we are to hold them back, regardless of our superior numbers of Ascended, Hoelaria just restarted the War of Generations." Opes turned his attention back to the meeting and Emma felt herself clam up.

Legon was still speaking. "We predict the first formations will reach the Capital within three months. Even if we are to work as fast as we can, we cannot marshal our own society in time to stop this threat; we will take heavy casualties and lose much of the Cona Empire before we can stop the Iumenta," Legon was saying, as he leaned against the table. "We cannot let those troops get here, we must end this war soon," he said.

"I assume that you have come up with a strategy to do this?" The Head of House Insa said.

Legon nodded. "Yes we have, it's far from ideal, but a plan. Stacy," he said motioning to Arkin's widow, who walked forward.

She waved her hand over the table bringing up a map of Bailaya. "Thank you for honoring me today," she started. "My organization has mapped the entire city. Bailaya, like all Iumenta occupied human cities, have two and only two jump crystals." She motioned, bringing up the locations of the crystals. "They are in the southern part of the city, well away from the main Palace; they are heavily guarded but like most city crystals, have limited power," she said, looking back to Legon.