As she stretched out her arms toward the heavens, she bellowed, "Let it begin!" As she said this, a series of twisters formed just outside the western wall and picked up strength as they headed toward Mount Quang. She continued to hover in the air, and her eyes were a milky white color. She then slowly began to float down toward the ground, and her arms lowered a bit. From out of nowhere, a staff flew into her right hand, and she shot straight up into the air some fifty feet. She pointed the staff directly at Alanderas and muttered something unintelligible while holding aloft her war staff. Bright blue light engulfed her momentarily and then seemed to consolidate into the staff. She then sent the built-up charge of magic into the sky over Mount Quang. Lightning began to strike the moun tainside repeatedly. Booms of thunder rang out, waking every living thing within miles of the sudden storm.
Kishi returned to the ground and looked herself once more. She eyed the soldiers as they looked at her in awe and wonder. She smiled wickedly and said, "Move out!" She motioned with her staff toward the front gate of the outer wall. The army acknowledged her command immediately and began to file out of the city. She walked at the very front as a sign that she would take the lead with General Jaali as they headed to war. The troops began to shout and chant as they marched. Within a few hours, they had emptied the city and left only the citizens and the home guard behind.
Kishi did not want to leave anything to chance, so she thought that her actions would work well with what Kana was planning to do. The exhilaration she felt from using such powerful magic stayed with her throughout their uncontested march to the secret base in the north lands. Magic had never lingered for so long after using it. She began to crave it even more with each passing moment. She felt like she could single-handedly take on the army of Yukio and the defenses of Queen Daria. She was so wrapped up in the moment that she did not recognize the warning signs of sacrificing other living things to use their life force to bolster your own magic. This was a slippery slope she would have normally known not to trifle with.
After marching for the space of three days, they reached the secret northern base and were greeted by the knights who had made all of the necessary preparations. Farms had been set up to provide a renewable food source, and the forests north of the base were full of wild animals and fruits. There was also a well from which water could be drawn, and a river ran through a part of the woodland nearest the base. They could survive indefinitely, if need be, off the land surrounding them. There was a natural mote around the massive fort, which required the knights to build a series of bridges that could be retracted when needed. The walls of the natural barrier went down into the depths of the earth endlessly. The breadth of the mote was equal to five giants laying head to toe.
The main bridge to the base had been made centuries ago and had a section in the middle that could retract slightly, which left a ten-foot gap that made it impossible for big equipment to move across. The other bridges made by the knights were considerably less stable and could only handle so much weight at a time. There was existing living quarters which had been prepared for the army's habitation. An ancient army must have built this impregnable fortress during one of the north land wars. Queen Kishi looked around appraisingly and smiled slyly at her good friend, General Jaali. She was very pleased with this outpost and knew that after only a day of rest that she would be able to begin her attack.
"General Jaali, have the troops find their rooms immediately so that they can get some rest. In the morning, we attack!" she said savagely.
"Yes, my queen," he said, with a rueful smile at Kishi's enthusiasm. He could see that she was full of purpose and that she actually cared for the troops and their well-being. It gladdened his heart to see such devotion in his best friend. She had been lost for so many years and had wasted a lot of time searching fruitlessly for meaning in her life. Now, she had found what she was looking for. It was rather tragic that she found it after losing her sister.
"After you have carried out my orders, please get some rest. I am going to put up some of my own protection around our new base. There is some innate magic already protecting this place, but it never hurts to put our own layer of magical protection," she said confidently. "I will see you just before dawn. We will attack as the sun rises, so make sure the soldiers get plenty of sleep and that they have a substantial breakfast for the long day ahead of them."
"I will. I would also like to say that it is good to see that you have found purpose in your life and that you care so much for the welfare of others. As your friend, I will do what is necessary to keep you from harm. As your general, I will keep you safe," he said with an appraising look at his oldest friend.
"Thank you, Jaali. I could ask for nothing more and would expect nothing less from you. Now, let us get on with our tasks so that we can get some good rest. Good night, my friend," she said warmly as she wrapped her arms around her massive friend. They held one another for a few minutes and then she kissed him lightly on his forehead before departing.
As the sun crested over the edge of the canyon walls outside the castle of Queen Daria, the home guard noticed an eerie glimmering along the northwestern rim. It was as if there was a long line of metal objects standing along the rim of the canyon. They had never seen anything like it before and could not understand exactly what they were seeing. Then they saw a dust ball heading toward them at a great pace. As they looked closer, they could tell that it was one of the guards from the outer defenses. As he neared them, a ball of fire came down out of the cliff and instantly incinerated the poor soldier. Then clouds began to form overhead, quickly blocking out the sun.
The shining objects along the cliff could no longer be seen as a huge dust storm seemed to have risen out of nowhere and was heading directly for the queen Daria's castle. Lightning began to strike randomly all about them, and the loud echoing thunder ripped through the canyons so violently that rocks began to fall to the canyon floors. Commander Zareh Hacus came out of the front gates at a dead run at the sudden disturbances. He knew almost at once that they were under attack. He had no idea who it was, but he could not mistake the fact that they were being assailed by a powerful sorcerer. He barked orders at the guards to alert the rest of the home guard and to have everyone get to their stations at once. He ran back into the castle to warn the queen about what was taking place.
Before the army of Queen Kishi reached the first real defenses of the canyon lands, the guards had been alerted. They were stationed in cavities of the rock walls and began to shoot at will when the army came into their line of sight. The battle for the Nairi Can yons had begun. The Nairians entrenched themselves and would prove to be very difficult to kill. The high elves were not detoured by the superior defenses. They had the most powerful sorceress in all of Tuwa on their side, and Mistress Kana would be sending aid to them. With a queen as powerful as a guardian and a goddess who was more powerful than most of the Elementals, they could simply not lose the battle.
CHAPTER 14
Lord Diikker watched his former pupil leave with the army and felt a sense of immense pride come over him. He could clearly teach the sorceress nothing more as she marched toward her destiny. Now that she had gone, it was left to him to protect Tiranidrol from invasion, recapture Alanderas, and to deal with the giants. Queen Kishi may not approve of how he was going to accomplish these tasks, but she would be pleased with the end result. He felt that the experiences that Kishi was going to have while fighting the people of Nairi would help her understand his dark wisdom and cruel tactics. There is no such thing as a nice or polite war. She will understand this soon and will do what is required to capture those cursed canyon lands.