"What's the matter, my moon beam? Allow me to help you," Desmond whispered as we walked into the castle. My head jerked up and I gave him a soft smile.
"I am thinking of attacking Giwic Keep before Madun. It would allow us to have more room for soldiers from the cities that just joined us to be able to train with us, it would ensure Gulonde and any that stay here would be safe from attack, and it would remove a large amount of the human king's soldiers. But I do not feel right asking those from Mileah to travel for 30 weeks with little to no battle training only to join in a battle where many innocents could be killed."
"I see your worry," he said as we sat at the table. "Giwic Keep is loyal to the human king, but only the soldiers and the lord are loyal. The citizens could care less for him. From what I heard Theodric saying as I arrived, you may be able to send someone into Giwic Keep to rally the citizens to fight with you or get them to flee to Defalls for their safety. If the human king really has begun to attack his own people for trying to reason with him, the people of Giwic Keep won't need much convincing to flee to safety or fight."
"Do you think it would be wiser to attack Giwic Keep before Madun?" He sat back and thought for a moment as our plates were set in front of us.
"I do. Since all the cities except Dorione, Madun, and Giwic Keep have joined with you, you have control of most of Inyarel. However, those are the three largest cities. If you can take Giwic Keep with minimal loss of innocent lives, that would take out a third of the human king's supplies and half of his soldiers. Would you look to take Dorione after or would you go straight to Madun?"
"It would be wiser to take Dorione after Giwic Keep, but then I would also be fighting battles within. There were too many that were stiff to the thought of elves when I was there with your father, but I would not want to put myself in a position to be easily surrounded. Leaving Dorione would allow me to be surrounded. I also do not want to be responsible for the loss of Arlette's husband or any other family members of those from Dorione that joined us." I let out a heavy sigh and dropped my head, unsure of what would be best.
"Eat your dinner, my moon beam. Do not let these stresses impact your health." I smiled and ate my dinner, getting lost in thought again about whether we should attack Giwic Keep or Madun first. "Is there a reason you are stressing this much tonight?" he asked in my mind as we ate.
"When the sun rises, I am going to send Falinor and Tarlisa to verify the information you gave me about the defences and layout of Madun. But if we intend to attack Giwic Keep first, the information Tarlisa gathers would be useless by the time she returns."
"Perhaps change their destination, then? Instead of sending them to Madun, send Tarlisa to Giwic Keep. Have her get the people there to agree to flee to Defalls. We attack and take the city, the people may return, and they can help you provide more food to the rest of the cities that just joined you. It would give you the larger area you desire to allow all the soldiers to train together, it would cost half of the human king's soldiers, and he would lose a third of his supplies. Attacking on both sides would still be a possibility. Simply send someone to Mileah or along the Old Road to catch Stephen and inform them of the plan." I thought about his suggestion until we walked in the room.
"Are you certain you trust their honesty that they want to join us?" I asked softly.
"The only one that would give me worry is Alistayr, but if he was with Stephen there shouldn't be any problems from him. His loyalty tends to follow Stephen's." I nodded and he tilted my face to his, pressing our lips together. "Please, my moon beam. Try to calm your mind. Perhaps a good night's rest is what you need and will allow you to learn the correct decision."
"But if it does not allow the discovery of the correct decision, I will have wasted the time." He smiled and sighed, but nodded.
"You're going to work through the night, aren't you?"
"I must. I need to decide if we will attack Giwic Keep or Madun first before I can send Tarlisa and Falinor anywhere." He led me to the table in our room and sat me down before sitting across from me as a Kukawk screeched from somewhere outside.
"Then I will stay up and help you work through this decision." I felt my eyes water and a smile curled my lips at how elven he was becoming. "If you attack Madun first, there would be little or no need to attack Dorione or Giwic Keep, and you would be removing the human king in one battle as he would have less time to prepare his defenses. But if your soldiers are spotted before reaching Madun, he could send someone to Dorione and Giwic Keep and have them surprise you from behind or even attack Gulonde. On the other hand, if you attack Giwic Keep first and a soldier escapes, he could inform Dorione and Madun, giving both time to prepare their defenses and making your next two battles harder, but there would be less supplies to Madun, less soldiers for the human king to command, you would have no threats to Gulonde as the human king wouldn't know which path your soldiers are travelling, and you would have obtained a larger city to allow all new soldiers to train together so everyone can fight in the same manner." I let out a sigh and stood, walking to our window and pushing the glass to let the fresh, cool breeze in as I leaned heavily on the window.
"Both options have good and bad about them, other than what you have stated. If we attack Giwic Keep first, any soldiers from Mileah will have to travel for 30 weeks and will be tired as they fight. That will push back our final battles a great distance and I am not sure we can make our people wait that long for the creation of an heir, but the war would be over with a total of three more battles. If we attack Madun first, Giwic Keep could attack Gulonde while Dorione could surprise us from behind, but Mileah will be able to attack Madun from the north to distract half of the human king's soldiers that are there. And it would make no sense to attack Dorione first as we could be surprised from both the north and south while Gulonde is attacked."
"Attacking Giwic Keep first provides the most advantages for you, my moon beam," he whispered in my ear as his hands closed around my waist. "An attack on Madun would end the war fastest, but Giwic Keep will give you more supplies, larger training grounds, certain security for Gulonde, and the removal of half of the human king's forces. Once all your soliders are trained, you could even have some remain in Gulonde to keep everyone safe while the rest go to Dorione. From there, you could have all your soldiers go to Madun since there would be no more chances of anyone attacking Gulonde." Silently, I asked for guidance and blew out a sigh as I looked up at the stars, twinkling in the blue-black sky above as my answer came to me.
"You need to rest, my starlight. You have worked hard on your battle training today and will be working hard on your battle training again when the sun rises. I will join you in bed soon." I felt him nod and he pressed a kiss to the back of my shoulder.
"Don't stay up long, my moon beam. You need to rest as well." I nodded and felt his presence vanish, then heard the covers on our bed move. I stood at the window for a bit, silently thinking about the answer given to me as a Kukawk silently flew by the window, holding a Mattuci.
Desmond's View
I awoke in the morning when I felt movement next to me, and opened my eyes to see Faylen roll to her back before opening her eyes. "Good morning, my moon beam," I murmured. Her head turned in my direction and I saw an instant smile curl her lips.
"Good morning, my starlight. How did you sleep?"
"Very well. Yourself?" I felt happiness eminate from her and smiled, knowing that she had slept well. "Did you discover the answer to your problem?"
"The best choice was given to me before I came to bed." I scrunched my face but she didn't elaborate, just rolled out of bed and got ready for the day. "You should come with to see off Falinor and Tarlisa." I jumped from our bed and washed myself before getting dressed and pressing a kiss to Faylen's lips, opening the door and following her from our room to the south gate. She draped a travelling cloak over one arm and we grabbed a couple packs of food and water from the kitchen, but Faylen had also put more food in the bag she was holding and a small bag in the one I was holding.
"Queen Faylen and King Desmond," Falinor said with a bow as we approached. He was holding the reins of a Kinkajoo Stallion, but took the bag from me and draped it over the creature's back. "Tarlisa should be here soon. I told her to arrive here when the sun rose today." Faylen nodded and handed her bag to him. "What is the pathway we are to take?" he asked as he slipped the bag over his shoulders.
"Take the Old Road from here toward Madun. When you reach the new road east of the Fallen Spires, you will continue along the Old Road and go to Mileah while Tarlisa will turn north to go to Madun." I saw Tarlisa come up and set a hand on the Kinkajoo.
"King Desmond and Queen Faylen. Good morning to you both," she said with a bow.
"Good morning, Tarlisa," I said.
"Thank you for volunteering for this, Tarlisa," Faylen said as she handed the travelling cloak to her. "This will help you stay warm and dry during your travels, but hide it before you enter Madun and let none see it." Tarlisa nodded and tugged the cloak around her shoulders as Faylen continued. "You both have food in your packs that will last until you reach your destinations. Tarlisa, I have provided some gold for you to get housing at an inn and food until time for your departure. When you leave Falinor's company, you will have three days travel to Madun. I need you to discover everything you can about Madun, but mainly how many defenses there are, where they are, and what they are. If you notice any weaknesses, take note of them as well. If you are able to discover exactly how many soldiers there are in Madun, that would be much appreciated, but it is not as high priority as the defenses. You will have four days to discover everything you can before you must leave, but you will not be returning here."
"Where am I going after I leave Madun?"
"You will head further north and reunite with Falinor in Mileah. They joined us yesterday and will be expecting you both." They nodded and Tarlisa swung up on the back of the Kinkajoo. "Falinor, you have your weapon of choice?" He gave a curt nod. "Alright. Be safe when travelling through Llane Woods. There are Canibu there and I do not wish to lose you to their ravenous hunger. I will send word to Mileah's leader that you are to be expected. If any in Mileah approach you and say they wish to fight, begin training them. Tarlisa, listen to Falinor during your travels with him and remember to leave Madun four days after your arrival. It should take you about two weeks to reach Mileah from there, so ensure you have enough food and water when you leave." They nodded again and the gates swung open as I set a hand on Tarlisa's leg, drawing her attention to me.
"I'll inform your mother of your destination later today. Tarlisa, please listen to Falinor. He's very wise and he's your protection. Don't hesitate to do something he tells you." She nodded again and Falinor looked at me with surprised appreciation on his face. "Use extreme caution in Madun. If any of the guards there even suspect that you're trying to discover anything for the elves, they'll throw you in front of the human king or in the dungeons. If you have to give any lies, give one and stick to it. You're only aid there may be a woman named Carlyta. She's one of the ladies kept at the bar for all the soldiers to enjoy, but she was being watched last I heard. If you decide to look for her, only talk to the women there. If you talk to any of the men, they'll assume you're a new girl at their bar and treat you as such."
"I'll be safe, King Desmond. Thank you for the information, though." I nodded and took my hand from her leg as I backed away. "You know, my father wanted me to marry you."
"I know. He told me so every time I went to Dorione. He thought it would ensure your loyalty to the human king." She smiled and chuckled.
"Well, technically my loyalty is ensured now, just to a Hybrid king." I chuckled and motioned for them to head off.
"Safe travels to you both." They headed out the gate and I turned to see Faylen looking at me in concern. "What is it, my moon beam?"
"You were due to be bonded with Tarlisa?"
"No," I said, instantly. "Her father wanted us to be married, but she was too young and the human king wouldn't have allowed me to marry anyone. He said that my marriage would give me loyalty to someone other than him and that my loyalty to him could be leveraged away at that point. There was no way I could have married her. Even if I had, it would've been a false marriage for me. My heart was spoken for from the moment I had the first dream of my future elven mate." I pressed our foreheads together and felt her sadness leave as happiness slowly came back in. "I want no other for the rest of my days," I said softly in Faejesh. A calmness seemed to wash over us and a smile curled my lips as I backed from her.
Faylen murmured something back in Faejesh, but it was too soft for me to hear what she said. I felt a tug away from her and started to panic, but she clasped a hand behind my neck and pressed our foreheads together again. "Calm your mind, Desmond. All will be fine. Your debt has been paid in full. You are no longer bound to me through a life debt. I should have done that before our bonding." I shook my head.
"You didn't have to do that, Faylen," I whispered.
"Yes I did." She turned and walked up the stairs to get on top of the wall, stopping to talk to Ilvarys and Ashwryn. They hustled down the stairs after a moment, went to the stables and got a couple Kinkajoos, and ran out the gate on them as Faylen came back down the stairs to me.
"May I ask where they are going?"
"They are informing Theodric and Kevyn that there will be elves coming to their cities soon, and informing Stephen to hurry home so Falinor is safely accepted into the city. Let us go to the training grounds. I want to see how well you are progressing in your battle training."
Faylen's View
"Good morning, Faylen," Lanquar said as he approached the castle. I'd just gotten done checking on how Desmond was progressing in his battle training and was pleased with how well he was doing. He still had much room for improvement, but had given me enough of a fight where I'd had to work a bit to win.
"Good morning, Lanquar."
"I noticed that Ilvarys and Ashwryn were not at their posts. Is there a reason for that?"
"Yes. They are running messages to a few of the humans that joined us yesterday. I sent them off right after Falinor and Tarlisa departed for Madun."
"So you have made a plan?" I nodded but said nothing as we walked into my private library. "Queen Faylen, as your aide I should know all of your plans so I may best guide you through anything you need suggestions on." I turned to look at him.
"Lanquar, must I tell you again to address me as Faylen?"
"If addressing you as Queen Faylen is what it takes to get you to inform your aide of your plans, then I will address you as such." I sighed and shook my head.
A Canibu minded aide. Just what every leader wants, I thought to myself. "We will be attacking Madun from the north." Lanquar's face instantly scrunched in confusion.
"From the north?"
"Yes. I have sent Falinor to Mileah to begin training any that wish to fight. In one month, I will leave with half of our soldiers, and we will follow the Old Road toward the Dragon's Crags mountains. Where the Old Road splits, we will seperate and half will go north to Waham while the other half go to Aelwic. Those that go to Waham will also go to Caleah to collect any that wish to fight, and those that go to Aelwic will collect any that wish to fight as they travel north to Edoburn. All will regroup in Cawic where we will collect any final people that wish to fight before travelling to Mileah. We will train everyone to fight as we travel. Once we reach Mileah, I will finalize the plan for our attack on Madun, using the information Tarlisa is able to discover. Attacking from the north prevents us from being surprised from behind, it allows us to begin training any humans that wish to join in the battles, and we will not have to contend with the humans from Mileah being tired from 30 weeks of travel with little to no battle training for any of the new soldiers. Leaving half of our soldiers here also allows Gulonde to remain protected. If we must attack Dorione and Giwic Keep after Madun, we will take Dorione and then I will send a messenger to have all soldiers here meet at Giwic Keep. I would rather not do battle in those cities though as some of the humans here have family in both of those cities. I do not want to be responsible for overseeing the death of family to those who have been helping us, regardless of where the support of our aid's family lies." Lanquar stood still for a moment, looking toward the wall.
"The plan is well formed, but would it not be smarter to attack Giwic Keep first so you could take all the soldiers with you?"
"Attacking there first would be intelligent, but any new soldiers joining us will have little to no battle training when they arrive. If we travel to them, we are able to train them and will have less risk of losing soldiers that we desperately need. Attacking Madun first also gives the human king less time to fortify his defenses." He nodded.
"May I know how you discovered this plan?"
"It was given to me before I went to bed." He nodded.
"Is there anything you need me to do for you today, Faylen?" I shook my head.
"No. Try to help Collen get through the final Teburian families for verification." He nodded as a knock came on the door. "That should be Collen. I have other things to check on for preparations for this battle. Thank you for aiding him with the verifications, Lanquar." He gave me a smile and opened the door for me to leave, letting Collen walk in with Adrion right behind him.
Walking out of the castle, I headed over to the healing station as I listened to the Flamifoutu chattering in the trees. The door opened just as I reached for it and one of the women stepped out. "Oh! Queen Faylen. I didn't know you were there," Farrah said, giving me a bow.
"It is fine. I just arrived. Is Tsarra in here?" She nodded and opened the door wider for me, letting me walk in before she disappeared.
"Good morning, Faylen. Is there something I can help you with?" Tsarra asked after a quick glance up from the broth she was making.
"Good morning, Tsarra. I was wanting to see how the preparations are going."
"The broths are almost done. I was going to prepare some Quixidomide after. Adrion is making some smaller bottles to hold it in."
"Good. Will the preparations be complete in one month?" She nodded as she spooned some of the broth into a bottle. "Wonderful. Half of the soldiers will be leaving then to attack Madun from the north. We will need a few healers to come with us for after the battle."
"You are leaving with the soldiers?" she asked as she handed the spoon to one of the women and came to me.
"Yes. We will need to train some new soldiers from the cities that just joined us yesterday, and the best way to train them before battle is to travel with them. I would rather our eldest healer not leave as the soldiers here will need you should Gulonde be attacked, but we will need healers after Madun. Ones trained in elven and human healing." She nodded.
"I have four aiding me today and will send them with you. The other three that aid me are not as well trained in elven healing methods yet."
"Thank you, Tsarra. I will do my best to keep them safe." She nodded and headed back to the broth she'd been working on as I headed out the door to find Arlette and let her know that Tarlisa wouldn't be home for a while.
