“I will lead them, King Ciel,” said Verandos in reply to this last statement. “I will round up all those who can and are willing to fight.”
“Thank you, my friend. Will you lead the army you gather to defend the southern walls?” asked the king without much enthusiasm. He was looking worse with each passing moment, like his health was declining right before their eyes.
“I want Anlon Marowael to be my first commander,” said the new general. “Do you accept?” He turned toward the sturdy elf as he spoke to the proven warrior.
“Of course, General Verandos,” replied Anlon with a salute to his new superior. “What are your orders?”
“Gather up a considerable force, and head to the north to help the beleaguered Commander Yven’s archers,” ordered the general.
Without another word being said, Commander Anlon did an about-face and left the council chambers. “I would ask that Lady Bernadine come with me to the southern gates.”
“No problem, Verandos,” replied the quiet druid. She viewed the general as an equal, so she did not use his new title when she spoke to him.
“King Ciel!” shouted as voice from the double door entryway. The person had thrown the doors open and stood there covered in mud and blood trying to catch his breath. Before he could say anything, five unbelievably tall creatures entered the council room. They had to bend over quite a ways to enter the low-slung entryway. The five giant leaders then stood tall and looked imperiously down at the little elves sitting around a small fire burning in a cauldron. Lord Marcello raised his staff into the air and sent a blue flame crashing into the little fire. Violent flames erupted high into the air and burned a bright blue color. Every bit of moisture in the room evaporated instantly.
“We are here to assist you in your time of need,” said King Angus in a booming voice that drowned the sounds of war and weather out completely.
“Welcome, my old friend,” answered the elven king as he stood up from his throne and bowed low to their larger than life guests. “What assistance can you offer us?”
“We have noticed that you are under attack in the south by an innumerable army of orcs. We can send three-fifths of our forces down there to help with the defenses,” offered General Lang in a gruff voice.
“I almost forgot to introduce ourselves,” began King Angus. “I am King Angus Vokias, ruler of the combined tribes of the giants.”
“I am Lord Marcello Zomiria,” said the massive magician in a deep rumbling voice. “I am the commander of the king’s guard and our siege warriors.”
“I am Commander Boaz Drelius, leader of the artillery forces,” said the gargantuan warrior with a slight bow.
“I am Commander Gerodi Ramunus, leader of our warriors,” said the giant plainly.
“And I am General Lang Emasar, leader of King Angus’s armies,” said the general imperiously as he folded his massive arms over his overly large chest.
“We are overjoyed to have you with us,” replied King Ciel with a little more color in his cheeks. The appearance of the giants seemed to give him back a measure of his health.
“As I was saying, we will send Lord Marcello and his siege warriors to the south to strengthen your defenses at the southern walls,” continued King Angus. “We will send Commander Boaz and his artillery units to the eastern wall to ensure the orcs do not try to enter from that direction. Commander Gerodi will protect the western wall and the central part of the city. I will remain here while General Lang returns to the northern wall to continue building up defenses while launching periodic offensive attacks.”
“Excellent, we have a plan now, so let us put it into action right away,” said the elven king decisively. “General Lang, this is General Verandos. He will be commanding the southern troops while you command the northern. Do either of you have any questions?”
“No,” replied General Verandos with a smile.
“I have no questions either. I will say that you have chosen wisely, King Ciel. General Verandos is an old friend and a brilliant military strategist,” said General Lang with a humble bow.
“It is good to see you again, Lang. Keep safe and remember, through patience comes true victory,” the druid said with a satisfied smile.
“We will use my messenger owl to carry messages to the various leaders who will be engaged in battle. She will be able to fly undetected by our enemies and can use different methods of making her presence known to you. Got it?” asked King Ciel. The entire room nodded to show the king that they understood.
The council members were dismissed, and everyone who had orders or needed to get to the battle areas departed immediately. The king was the only one who stayed behind sitting in his chair. He countenance seemed to fall again as dread and fear gripped his heart. He simply did not understand why his daughter was attacking him. What was even more troubling was the idea that Kishi had allied herself with the vile orcs of Mount Tarin. Why are you working with the very beasts that helped destroy the Eldar? He looked down at his hands and stared at nothing in particular for nearly an hour. He felt as though his soul was being ripped in two, and there was simply nothing he could do about it. War was never the answer, and it would not mend his broken heart or his shattered nation. This could very well be the end of the elves…just like the Eldar of old.
***
As Lord Marcello approached the southern outer wall, his eyes were met with a sea of orcs swarming toward the city. He immediately sprang into action by taking off into a dead run toward the gates. He skipped the entryway and jumped up on the wall above the doors. He stretched his arms out with his staff in his hands high above his head. He muttered a series of spells under his breath, which caused several things to happen all at once. The clouds overhead turned an ominous purple color as they began to swirl. Twisters sprang up at various locations and began to sweep would-be attackers into the air. Hail the size of a giant’s head began to pound those that did not get swept away. Unnatural lightning strikes began to occur with increasing frequency. Instead of white and purple flashes of discharge, the color was golden. None of the orcs were hit, and they seemed to take heart because of this fact.
As the orcs regrouped and pressed forward, they were taken by complete surprise by Marcello’s true purpose of his lightning strikes. Snakes had sprung up from the scorched holes in the ground. These reptiles were not like any other in the lands and appeared to be an extinct breed. These were the same creatures that poisoned thousands of orcs during the battle they fought with the peoples of Tuwa a thousand years ago. The Eldar had created the slithering beasts and had used them to drive the orcs back from their forest. The snakes had a camouflage pattern on their scales that made it impossible to see them until you had accidentally stepped on one. They were able to mimic their changing environment like chameleons. They averaged sixteen feet in length and could deliver their poison in one of two ways. First, they had enormous fangs that carried enough venom in one bite to kill five full-grown orcs. Second, they could spit their venom at their prey, which would eat through their skin or hide within seconds while poisoning them at the same time. There was another secret to these vile apparitions, and that was their eyes caused a person to go temporarily insane if they should meet its hypnotic gaze.
Several howls of anguish and fear ripped through the already noise-filled air. Chaos erupted as a result of this deadly attack by the giant wizard. Marcello used the extra time created by his attack to position his siege warriors for an offensive. They were so well positioned that they would be able to utilize the same spots for defensive purposes. It was clear to the magician that they would need these protected areas in the very near future. His assaults had been nothing more than an irritant and a delay tactic. However, his actions were very effective and provided the giants time to integrate with the battered home guard that was still trying to defend the outer wall against an army whose numbers were unfathomable. Spears the size of trees were released into the sea of orcs by the giant defenders. These attacks eliminated several dozen orcs with each throw. The orc armies were becoming highly agitated because they were still out of their archers’ range and their siege weapons were still en route.