Chapter 47: 47
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***
Leilatha
***
Elders Urifir and Falar decided to focus on different objectives once they entered the city. Falar's forces would secure the streets for both civilians to escape and for soldiers to move unhindered to places they needed to be. They would also assist in scouting out enemy locations which included judging how many soldiers would be needed to eliminate each individual or group they came across.
Urifir's forces were in better shape after fighting Viram's clone than Falar's were and would be taking the offensive against the invaders. Urifir himself would work his way up the main street with his troops while Falar stayed back and established a command center for the operation. Falar would also be in charge of sending support and coordinating the other logistics.
Falar stood under the overhang observing his lieutenants giving out orders to their subordinates in the heavy rain. The clouds weren't as low as they were before but the rain was still as heavy as ever. The poor visibility was giving his scouts a tough time. They would often stumble into an area with a strong enemy presence and not realize the danger until they were already surrounded. More than a few of his men were sent back out of the city as wounded or casualties.
Falar scuffed his boot heel on the pavement at the thought of not having trained his forces well enough. He mostly used them as guards for his own estate and farmlands. This meant that in general, they lacked the experience and techniques needed to effectively stay safe while searching out hidden enemies in such poor visibility. He never expected that they could cross a small neighborhood's square and run blindly into an enemy stronger than them, only to run into another enemy that was roused by the fighting when they tried to fall back.
To make matters worse, he had underestimated the number of troops needed to secure even the small fraction of the city that they had already cleared. He commanded a large family guard of nearly two thousand and marshaled nearly three-quarters of them to regain the city, but they weren't enough. Even with Urifir's forces focused on the actual fighting, they would still need the other elders to join them soon or they would become overextended well before they could and clear out and secure the rest of the city. The trickle of scattered home guard and militia that had been joining them were still too few. They were barely enough to assist with scouting operations.
Still, Falar found himself smiling inwardly as he watched his men rush this way and that as they carried out their missions with a purpose. It had been a very long time since he'd last been on the frontlines. He found his old bones invigorated by the experience, even though it was in response to a terrible situation.
Urifir for his part kept in regular contact by sending back reports detailing the size and disposition of the enemy forces that they'd either defeated or had forced to flee as they made their way to the center of the city. Knowing which way a group of enemies ran allowed Falar to shore up his sentries at the main intersections that the enemy was almost certain to pass through. Even if the enemy took shelter instead, his forces were still pinning them down and noting which streets they were on so they could coordinate their expanded search and destroy efforts later.
Another messenger from Urifir just came into sight, running along the wet stones and shielding their eyes from the rain. Falar wanted to look indifferent but could hardly keep from fidgeting in excitement as the messenger approached. After they successfully retook the capital city and destroyed the invaders, they would be lauded as national heroes.
"A message for you Sir, from Elder Urifir."
Falar inclined his head, giving the messenger permission to continue.
"A large force has been discovered along the Praywin market street section of the central square. Civilian and military hostages were spotted among them and it is likely the remaining enemy commanders are there."
Falar's right eye twitched, "How does he know that?"
"My apologies Elder. Which part are you asking about?"
"How do they surmise enemy commanders are present?"
"Ah, its because it is a very large force and someone seems to be coordinating them. Elder Urifir felt since they were gathering their hostages there, that it was their command center. He also asks for reinforcements before he prosecutes the battle." The messenger bowed his head before hastily adding, "My Lord Elder."
Falar didn't seem insulted by the messenger's bluntness. Instead, he was getting even more excited, almost bouncing on his heels. He smiled and thanked Urifir in his heart for giving him a chance at more of the glory.
"Tell Elder Urifir that I shall send him my best battalions."
If he and Urifir could eliminate the remaining enemy commanders, they could pretty much take their time mopping-up the rest of the fiends. If the other elders didn't hurry up, they would lose out on all the glory and bragging rights.
...
As Urifir and Falar had entered the city, they left Qinam with the duty of cleaning up after them outside the gate. His heart was nearly breaking as he looked over the mounds of bodies piled to the side of the road. His sight lingered on a young girls hand sticking out from within one of the piles. Her wrist had a grass bracelet with a few yellow flowers woven in.
"I hope they make them pay." He growled to himself.
As an old man, one of the saddest things to him was seeing a promising young life ended before it really began. He found himself staring before he wrenched his eyes away. He imagined seeing the young girl together with a slightly older sister. He imagined them smiling and playing in the summer fields, making little wreaths for their hair and bracelets for their family as flower seeds danced along the gentle, flowing air.
Memories of childhood friends, from nearly his entire lifetime ago, came flooding back. If his eyes lingered too long, he would start seeing them in the empty staring eyes of the youthful dead. The only saving grace in their frozen faces was that none of the young among them were smiling. It was a small mercy.
The wind runners escorting Leilatha had stuck around. They deemed it safer to stay with his forces as they waited for a larger military escort. Now one of them was making his way to Qinam walking among the dead.
"Elder Qinam, Lady Leilatha is awake."
Qinam raised his eyes from the nearest pile of mangled corpses and spun around to face the messenger. He was glad to have something new to distract his thoughts.
"Has she recov-" Qinam realized he already knew the answer well enough and instead asked, "No, how is she? Has she said anything?"
"We told her about you and the other elders. She has requested to see you immediately." The wind runner bowed with an arm out, ushering Qinam to follow.
Qinam peered to the side at one of the piles of burnt, dead flesh, closed his eyes and sighed. [Its the living that need me now.] He opened his eyes, shook his rain-soaked sleeves and signaled for the wind runner to lead on.
...
The wind runner greeted the sentries, lifted the tent flap and let Qinam in. Within, Leilatha was surrounded by other guards, including three of her wind runners and other impromptu attendants. As Qinam was brought closer, she was lying with her eyes closed, on a mound of pillows and other bedding that was scrounged up.
The wind runner escorting Qinam stepped forward and kneeled. "My Lady, Elder Qinam is here."
Qinam bent forward, as far as his back allowed, into a deferential bow. "My Lady." He waited for Leilatha to speak but her eyes remained shut.
A female attendant that was sitting next to Leilatha bent forward and whispered into her ear.
[She really used up a lot of power to summon this infernal storm. What was she thinking?] Qinam mused.
When Leilatha finally opened her eyes, she took a moment to focus on those around her before she addressed Qinam.
"Qinam, what news? My escorts tell me that we are just outside of the south gate. What has happened that we don't have to keep running?"
Qinam straightened up and smiled. He was happy that he could at least tell her some good news amongst all the misfortune.
"My Lady, Me and the Elders Falar and Urifir, with our combined forces, have defeated the fiend that pursued you and have begun to retake the city. Even now we receive messengers from Falar that detail the number of fiends that have been hunted down."
Qinam was looking forward to easing her pain with the news but instead, her expression only seemed to grow confused.
"My escorts have told me that I have only been unconscious for a few hours. How could we defeat the enemy so quickly with so few forces?"
Qinam and the other elders didn't know about the defeat of the main army yet. They had only heard the capital was under attack and mobilized their forces to counter-attack. The elders were making great progress but had no idea just how dire the situation was.
Qinam's smile faltered as he realized something was wrong. "My Lady, if I may ask. What drove you to summon such a devastating storm in your own city?"
Lielatha's eyes filled with tears, "They burned my tree." A small sob escaped her throat and she stopped to collect herself.
Qinam felt the world tilting beneath him and nearly lost his balance. [If they could do that then.] He audibly swallowed as the true strength of the enemy was made apparent.
The wind runner, Aeson, saw how Leilatha couldn't speak for the moment and decided to supplement the information. "They were able to pierce through the barrier and set fire to the city with impunity. We didn't stand a chance."
Qinam barely heard Aeson's words and almost absentmindedly voiced his thoughts out, "If they could do that, then was the powerful fiend we slew not the leader after all?"
The elders were powerful, more powerful than most of the generals if fighting one-on-one but would have to gather into a group of at least six to ten, to be able to come close to Leilatha's strength. Before now, he thought Leilatha had only miscalculated and was being rash by summoning such a devastating storm.
Qinam looked Aeson in the eye, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I recounted what I'd seen to the Elder Urifir. I would have counseled against rushing into the city, but it is not for me to dictate what the elders do with their own forces." Aeson bowed politely and continued as Qinam stood there with his mouth hanging slightly open. "My main concern was and still is the well being of Lady Leilatha. We are still waiting for our escort."
Leilatha heard the entire exchange. Her body stiffened and her face grew pale as she stared at the two talking. [They don't know about the other army.]
Qinam used a flash of anger to recover and bite back with indignation, "I have the wounded to attend to before I can spare any of my men. The other Elders standing by at the other gates should be sending their support anytime now."
Aeson frowned in frustration. "Surely you can spare a few more of your own to see us off. This is hardly the place for Leilatha to rest and-" Aeson's words stopped immediately as he heard Leilatha speak.
"-Beasts." She squeezed out in a barely audible whisper.
Still angry, Qinam had to strain to hear and almost barked at her to speak up before he remembered himself. "What was that My Lady?"
Leilatha took a shallow, strained breath and forced her words out. "What about the army of land beasts?"
The entire tent and the area around it fell silent.
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***
Leilatha
***
Elders Urifir and Falar decided to focus on different objectives once they entered the city. Falar's forces would secure the streets for both civilians to escape and for soldiers to move unhindered to places they needed to be. They would also assist in scouting out enemy locations which included judging how many soldiers would be needed to eliminate each individual or group they came across.
Urifir's forces were in better shape after fighting Viram's clone than Falar's were and would be taking the offensive against the invaders. Urifir himself would work his way up the main street with his troops while Falar stayed back and established a command center for the operation. Falar would also be in charge of sending support and coordinating the other logistics.
Falar stood under the overhang observing his lieutenants giving out orders to their subordinates in the heavy rain. The clouds weren't as low as they were before but the rain was still as heavy as ever. The poor visibility was giving his scouts a tough time. They would often stumble into an area with a strong enemy presence and not realize the danger until they were already surrounded. More than a few of his men were sent back out of the city as wounded or casualties.
Falar scuffed his boot heel on the pavement at the thought of not having trained his forces well enough. He mostly used them as guards for his own estate and farmlands. This meant that in general, they lacked the experience and techniques needed to effectively stay safe while searching out hidden enemies in such poor visibility. He never expected that they could cross a small neighborhood's square and run blindly into an enemy stronger than them, only to run into another enemy that was roused by the fighting when they tried to fall back.
To make matters worse, he had underestimated the number of troops needed to secure even the small fraction of the city that they had already cleared. He commanded a large family guard of nearly two thousand and marshaled nearly three-quarters of them to regain the city, but they weren't enough. Even with Urifir's forces focused on the actual fighting, they would still need the other elders to join them soon or they would become overextended well before they could and clear out and secure the rest of the city. The trickle of scattered home guard and militia that had been joining them were still too few. They were barely enough to assist with scouting operations.
Still, Falar found himself smiling inwardly as he watched his men rush this way and that as they carried out their missions with a purpose. It had been a very long time since he'd last been on the frontlines. He found his old bones invigorated by the experience, even though it was in response to a terrible situation.
Urifir for his part kept in regular contact by sending back reports detailing the size and disposition of the enemy forces that they'd either defeated or had forced to flee as they made their way to the center of the city. Knowing which way a group of enemies ran allowed Falar to shore up his sentries at the main intersections that the enemy was almost certain to pass through. Even if the enemy took shelter instead, his forces were still pinning them down and noting which streets they were on so they could coordinate their expanded search and destroy efforts later.
Another messenger from Urifir just came into sight, running along the wet stones and shielding their eyes from the rain. Falar wanted to look indifferent but could hardly keep from fidgeting in excitement as the messenger approached. After they successfully retook the capital city and destroyed the invaders, they would be lauded as national heroes.
"A message for you Sir, from Elder Urifir."
Falar inclined his head, giving the messenger permission to continue.
"A large force has been discovered along the Praywin market street section of the central square. Civilian and military hostages were spotted among them and it is likely the remaining enemy commanders are there."
Falar's right eye twitched, "How does he know that?"
"My apologies Elder. Which part are you asking about?"
"How do they surmise enemy commanders are present?"
"Ah, its because it is a very large force and someone seems to be coordinating them. Elder Urifir felt since they were gathering their hostages there, that it was their command center. He also asks for reinforcements before he prosecutes the battle." The messenger bowed his head before hastily adding, "My Lord Elder."
Falar didn't seem insulted by the messenger's bluntness. Instead, he was getting even more excited, almost bouncing on his heels. He smiled and thanked Urifir in his heart for giving him a chance at more of the glory.
"Tell Elder Urifir that I shall send him my best battalions."
If he and Urifir could eliminate the remaining enemy commanders, they could pretty much take their time mopping-up the rest of the fiends. If the other elders didn't hurry up, they would lose out on all the glory and bragging rights.
...
As Urifir and Falar had entered the city, they left Qinam with the duty of cleaning up after them outside the gate. His heart was nearly breaking as he looked over the mounds of bodies piled to the side of the road. His sight lingered on a young girls hand sticking out from within one of the piles. Her wrist had a grass bracelet with a few yellow flowers woven in.
"I hope they make them pay." He growled to himself.
As an old man, one of the saddest things to him was seeing a promising young life ended before it really began. He found himself staring before he wrenched his eyes away. He imagined seeing the young girl together with a slightly older sister. He imagined them smiling and playing in the summer fields, making little wreaths for their hair and bracelets for their family as flower seeds danced along the gentle, flowing air.
Memories of childhood friends, from nearly his entire lifetime ago, came flooding back. If his eyes lingered too long, he would start seeing them in the empty staring eyes of the youthful dead. The only saving grace in their frozen faces was that none of the young among them were smiling. It was a small mercy.
The wind runners escorting Leilatha had stuck around. They deemed it safer to stay with his forces as they waited for a larger military escort. Now one of them was making his way to Qinam walking among the dead.
"Elder Qinam, Lady Leilatha is awake."
Qinam raised his eyes from the nearest pile of mangled corpses and spun around to face the messenger. He was glad to have something new to distract his thoughts.
"Has she recov-" Qinam realized he already knew the answer well enough and instead asked, "No, how is she? Has she said anything?"
"We told her about you and the other elders. She has requested to see you immediately." The wind runner bowed with an arm out, ushering Qinam to follow.
Qinam peered to the side at one of the piles of burnt, dead flesh, closed his eyes and sighed. [Its the living that need me now.] He opened his eyes, shook his rain-soaked sleeves and signaled for the wind runner to lead on.
...
The wind runner greeted the sentries, lifted the tent flap and let Qinam in. Within, Leilatha was surrounded by other guards, including three of her wind runners and other impromptu attendants. As Qinam was brought closer, she was lying with her eyes closed, on a mound of pillows and other bedding that was scrounged up.
The wind runner escorting Qinam stepped forward and kneeled. "My Lady, Elder Qinam is here."
Qinam bent forward, as far as his back allowed, into a deferential bow. "My Lady." He waited for Leilatha to speak but her eyes remained shut.
A female attendant that was sitting next to Leilatha bent forward and whispered into her ear.
[She really used up a lot of power to summon this infernal storm. What was she thinking?] Qinam mused.
When Leilatha finally opened her eyes, she took a moment to focus on those around her before she addressed Qinam.
"Qinam, what news? My escorts tell me that we are just outside of the south gate. What has happened that we don't have to keep running?"
Qinam straightened up and smiled. He was happy that he could at least tell her some good news amongst all the misfortune.
"My Lady, Me and the Elders Falar and Urifir, with our combined forces, have defeated the fiend that pursued you and have begun to retake the city. Even now we receive messengers from Falar that detail the number of fiends that have been hunted down."
Qinam was looking forward to easing her pain with the news but instead, her expression only seemed to grow confused.
"My escorts have told me that I have only been unconscious for a few hours. How could we defeat the enemy so quickly with so few forces?"
Qinam and the other elders didn't know about the defeat of the main army yet. They had only heard the capital was under attack and mobilized their forces to counter-attack. The elders were making great progress but had no idea just how dire the situation was.
Qinam's smile faltered as he realized something was wrong. "My Lady, if I may ask. What drove you to summon such a devastating storm in your own city?"
Lielatha's eyes filled with tears, "They burned my tree." A small sob escaped her throat and she stopped to collect herself.
Qinam felt the world tilting beneath him and nearly lost his balance. [If they could do that then.] He audibly swallowed as the true strength of the enemy was made apparent.
The wind runner, Aeson, saw how Leilatha couldn't speak for the moment and decided to supplement the information. "They were able to pierce through the barrier and set fire to the city with impunity. We didn't stand a chance."
Qinam barely heard Aeson's words and almost absentmindedly voiced his thoughts out, "If they could do that, then was the powerful fiend we slew not the leader after all?"
The elders were powerful, more powerful than most of the generals if fighting one-on-one but would have to gather into a group of at least six to ten, to be able to come close to Leilatha's strength. Before now, he thought Leilatha had only miscalculated and was being rash by summoning such a devastating storm.
Qinam looked Aeson in the eye, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I recounted what I'd seen to the Elder Urifir. I would have counseled against rushing into the city, but it is not for me to dictate what the elders do with their own forces." Aeson bowed politely and continued as Qinam stood there with his mouth hanging slightly open. "My main concern was and still is the well being of Lady Leilatha. We are still waiting for our escort."
Leilatha heard the entire exchange. Her body stiffened and her face grew pale as she stared at the two talking. [They don't know about the other army.]
Qinam used a flash of anger to recover and bite back with indignation, "I have the wounded to attend to before I can spare any of my men. The other Elders standing by at the other gates should be sending their support anytime now."
Aeson frowned in frustration. "Surely you can spare a few more of your own to see us off. This is hardly the place for Leilatha to rest and-" Aeson's words stopped immediately as he heard Leilatha speak.
"-Beasts." She squeezed out in a barely audible whisper.
Still angry, Qinam had to strain to hear and almost barked at her to speak up before he remembered himself. "What was that My Lady?"
Leilatha took a shallow, strained breath and forced her words out. "What about the army of land beasts?"
The entire tent and the area around it fell silent.
***Leilatha***Elders Urifir and Falar decided to focus on different objectives once they entered the city. Falar's forces would secure the streets for both civilians to escape and for soldiers to move unhindered to places they needed to be. They would also assist in scouting out enemy locations which included judging how many soldiers would be needed to eliminate each individual or group they came across.Urifir's forces were in better shape after fighting Viram's clone than Falar's were and would be taking the offensive against the invaders. Urifir himself would work his way up the main street with his troops while Falar stayed back and established a command center for the operation. Falar would also be in charge of sending support and coordinating the other logistics.Falar stood under the overhang observing his lieutenants giving out orders to their subordinates in the heavy rain. The clouds weren't as low as they were before but the rain was still as heavy as ever. The poor visibility was giving his scouts a tough time. They would often stumble into an area with a strong enemy presence and not realize the danger until they were already surrounded. More than a few of his men were sent back out of the city as wounded or casualties.Falar scuffed his boot heel on the pavement at the thought of not having trained his forces well enough. He mostly used them as guards for his own estate and farmlands. This meant that in general, they lacked the experience and techniques needed to effectively stay safe while searching out hidden enemies in such poor visibility. He never expected that they could cross a small neighborhood's square and run blindly into an enemy stronger than them, only to run into another enemy that was roused by the fighting when they tried to fall back.To make matters worse, he had underestimated the number of troops needed to secure even the small fraction of the city that they had already cleared. He commanded a large family guard of nearly two thousand and marshaled nearly three-quarters of them to regain the city, but they weren't enough. Even with Urifir's forces focused on the actual fighting, they would still need the other elders to join them soon or they would become overextended well before they could and clear out and secure the rest of the city. The trickle of scattered home guard and militia that had been joining them were still too few. They were barely enough to assist with scouting operations.Still, Falar found himself smiling inwardly as he watched his men rush this way and that as they carried out their missions with a purpose. It had been a very long time since he'd last been on the frontlines. He found his old bones invigorated by the experience, even though it was in response to a terrible situation.Urifir for his part kept in regular contact by sending back reports detailing the size and disposition of the enemy forces that they'd either defeated or had forced to flee as they made their way to the center of the city. Knowing which way a group of enemies ran allowed Falar to shore up his sentries at the main intersections that the enemy was almost certain to pass through. Even if the enemy took shelter instead, his forces were still pinning them down and noting which streets they were on so they could coordinate their expanded search and destroy efforts later.Another messenger from Urifir just came into sight, running along the wet stones and shielding their eyes from the rain. Falar wanted to look indifferent but could hardly keep from fidgeting in excitement as the messenger approached. After they successfully retook the capital city and destroyed the invaders, they would be lauded as national heroes."A message for you Sir, from Elder Urifir."Falar inclined his head, giving the messenger permission to continue."A large force has been discovered along the Praywin market street section of the central square. Civilian and military hostages were spotted among them and it is likely the remaining enemy commanders are there."Falar's right eye twitched, "How does he know that?""My apologies Elder. Which part are you asking about?""How do they surmise enemy commanders are present?""Ah, its because it is a very large force and someone seems to be coordinating them. Elder Urifir felt since they were gathering their hostages there, that it was their command center. He also asks for reinforcements before he prosecutes the battle." The messenger bowed his head before hastily adding, "My Lord Elder."Falar didn't seem insulted by the messenger's bluntness. Instead, he was getting even more excited, almost bouncing on his heels. He smiled and thanked Urifir in his heart for giving him a chance at more of the glory."Tell Elder Urifir that I shall send him my best battalions."If he and Urifir could eliminate the remaining enemy commanders, they could pretty much take their time mopping-up the rest of the fiends. If the other elders didn't hurry up, they would lose out on all the glory and bragging rights....As Urifir and Falar had entered the city, they left Qinam with the duty of cleaning up after them outside the gate. His heart was nearly breaking as he looked over the mounds of bodies piled to the side of the road. His sight lingered on a young girls hand sticking out from within one of the piles. Her wrist had a grass bracelet with a few yellow flowers woven in."I hope they make them pay." He growled to himself.As an old man, one of the saddest things to him was seeing a promising young life ended before it really began. He found himself staring before he wrenched his eyes away. He imagined seeing the young girl together with a slightly older sister. He imagined them smiling and playing in the summer fields, making little wreaths for their hair and bracelets for their family as flower seeds danced along the gentle, flowing air.Memories of childhood friends, from nearly his entire lifetime ago, came flooding back. If his eyes lingered too long, he would start seeing them in the empty staring eyes of the youthful dead. The only saving grace in their frozen faces was that none of the young among them were smiling. It was a small mercy.The wind runners escorting Leilatha had stuck around. They deemed it safer to stay with his forces as they waited for a larger military escort. Now one of them was making his way to Qinam walking among the dead."Elder Qinam, Lady Leilatha is awake."Qinam raised his eyes from the nearest pile of mangled corpses and spun around to face the messenger. He was glad to have something new to distract his thoughts."Has she recov-" Qinam realized he already knew the answer well enough and instead asked, "No, how is she? Has she said anything?""We told her about you and the other elders. She has requested to see you immediately." The wind runner bowed with an arm out, ushering Qinam to follow.Qinam peered to the side at one of the piles of burnt, dead flesh, closed his eyes and sighed. Its the living that need me now. He opened his eyes, shook his rain-soaked sleeves and signaled for the wind runner to lead on....The wind runner greeted the sentries, lifted the tent flap and let Qinam in. Within, Leilatha was surrounded by other guards, including three of her wind runners and other impromptu attendants. As Qinam was brought closer, she was lying with her eyes closed, on a mound of pillows and other bedding that was scrounged up.The wind runner escorting Qinam stepped forward and kneeled. "My Lady, Elder Qinam is here."Qinam bent forward, as far as his back allowed, into a deferential bow. "My Lady." He waited for Leilatha to speak but her eyes remained shut.A female attendant that was sitting next to Leilatha bent forward and whispered into her ear.She really used up a lot of power to summon this infernal storm. What was she thinking? Qinam mused.When Leilatha finally opened her eyes, she took a moment to focus on those around her before she addressed Qinam."Qinam, what news? My escorts tell me that we are just outside of the south gate. What has happened that we don't have to keep running?"Qinam straightened up and smiled. He was happy that he could at least tell her some good news amongst all the misfortune."My Lady, Me and the Elders Falar and Urifir, with our combined forces, have defeated the fiend that pursued you and have begun to retake the city. Even now we receive messengers from Falar that detail the number of fiends that have been hunted down."Qinam was looking forward to easing her pain with the news but instead, her expression only seemed to grow confused."My escorts have told me that I have only been unconscious for a few hours. How could we defeat the enemy so quickly with so few forces?"Qinam and the other elders didn't know about the defeat of the main army yet. They had only heard the capital was under attack and mobilized their forces to counter-attack. The elders were making great progress but had no idea just how dire the situation was.Qinam's smile faltered as he realized something was wrong. "My Lady, if I may ask. What drove you to summon such a devastating storm in your own city?"Lielatha's eyes filled with tears, "They burned my tree." A small sob escaped her throat and she stopped to collect herself.Qinam felt the world tilting beneath him and nearly lost his balance. If they could do that then. He audibly swallowed as the true strength of the enemy was made apparent.The wind runner, Aeson, saw how Leilatha couldn't speak for the moment and decided to supplement the information. "They were able to pierce through the barrier and set fire to the city with impunity. We didn't stand a chance."Qinam barely heard Aeson's words and almost absentmindedly voiced his thoughts out, "If they could do that, then was the powerful fiend we slew not the leader after all?"The elders were powerful, more powerful than most of the generals if fighting one-on-one but would have to gather into a group of at least six to ten, to be able to come close to Leilatha's strength. Before now, he thought Leilatha had only miscalculated and was being rash by summoning such a devastating storm.Qinam looked Aeson in the eye, "Why didn't you tell me this before?""I recounted what I'd seen to the Elder Urifir. I would have counseled against rushing into the city, but it is not for me to dictate what the elders do with their own forces." Aeson bowed politely and continued as Qinam stood there with his mouth hanging slightly open. "My main concern was and still is the well being of Lady Leilatha. We are still waiting for our escort."Leilatha heard the entire exchange. Her body stiffened and her face grew pale as she stared at the two talking. They don't know about the other army.Qinam used a flash of anger to recover and bite back with indignation, "I have the wounded to attend to before I can spare any of my men. The other Elders standing by at the other gates should be sending their support anytime now."Aeson frowned in frustration. "Surely you can spare a few more of your own to see us off. This is hardly the place for Leilatha to rest and-" Aeson's words stopped immediately as he heard Leilatha speak."-Beasts." She squeezed out in a barely audible whisper.Still angry, Qinam had to strain to hear and almost barked at her to speak up before he remembered himself. "What was that My Lady?"Leilatha took a shallow, strained breath and forced her words out. "What about the army of land beasts?"The entire tent and the area around it fell silent.
