“What about the high elves?” asked General Nero undeterred.
“They have about forty thousand troops. They are being led by a powerful warlock who could easily make up for the smaller numbers by himself. I believe that three hundred and forty thousand against the pitiful defenses of the elves should be sufficient. Make sure to keep a vigilant rear guard to protect against an attack from the men of Aran. I do not believe that they will get involved, but it is better to be prepared for anything,” explained Kana.
“What is our main objective then in this assault?” asked General Tomo.
“Once you have attacked the capital, take it. I want you to secure Tarisdell and hold it. Let the high elves hunt down their brethren,” replied Kana. She really appreciated how the orcs did not waste their breath on pointless queries. They were all about business and getting the job done.
“We will return to our armies and begin our northeastern march as soon as you depart then,” said General Nero with a bow.
“If you have need of me, send one of the bats with your message. I will be observing from above. I will provide assistance to the areas that need it the most. However, my eyes cannot see everything all at once, so use the bats or the ravens to communicate with me,” she said decisively.
“As you command,” the generals said in unison. They turned about and marched back to their waiting armies.
Kana walked slowly to the head of her winged beast and bent close to one of his ears. She whispered for some time and then mounted the foul creature. The wings of the dragon spread wide as it lurched into the air. Within moments, the pair was nothing more than a black dot in the sky. The soldiers stood watching the odd pair fly northwest over the sea of trees. They were so caught up in watching the departure that they were not prepared for the surprise attack from the elves of the forest. A sharp whistling sound could be heard in the air about the ranks of General Tomo’s army. Several orcs went down in the first volley of arrows. Tomo wasted no time in rallying the troops; he ordered a counter attack. A sea of orcs began to rush toward their assailants with great ferocity. As Tomo’s army marched into the forest, an owl shot up into the sky and turned northward toward the capital city. The command was given to shoot the bird down, but it was too late. The messenger owl belonged to Anlon Marowael, the legendary elven warrior. The bird had out-distanced herself from the darts of the orcs within moments of flight. The beast would raise the alarm, so they had to act swiftly and take a more direct course of action.
The other two armies caught on pretty quickly to what was happening and hastened to their comrades’ aid. Within minutes, the three armies of the orcs were engaged with the outer defenses of the elven home guard. As the foot soldiers neared the hiding place of the elven archers, they were blindsided with a mixture of different magical attacks. One side was hit with a cold blast that froze several orcs instantly while the other side was hit by bolts of lightning. Chaos ensued among the ranks, and blood curdling screams echoed through the canopy of trees. General Nero reached the front of the assault with his troops and immediately took command of all three armies. He had them spread out so that they could move in from the south, east, and west. He was going to force their attackers to flee or die where they were!
***
Kana could sense the presence of the Seda just below her after only a few minutes of flying over the southwestern part of the forest. She urged her dragon to dive down from his high course, and as he did so, he unleashed a long uninterrupted stream of fire upon the forest below. Within moments, the forest was ablaze and they were off at once to Tarisdell. While Kana and her dragon were starting the fire, a messenger owl was flying past them toward the capital city with the alert of the southern assault by the orcs. Kana did not know of the ambush yet, so she took her time in her flight to the elves’ central city. The messenger of Anlon was considerably slower than the dragon, but she was able to fly through the trees and alert some of the king’s guard as she flew. The guard was able to pass the word along of the attack and also warned about a dragon heading their way. There had not been one of those fell beasts in Tuwa since the days of the Eldar. All the dragons were thought to have been killed or banished to the icy wastes of the north lands.
As the capital city of Tarisdell came into sight, Kana was met with a storm of arrows that appeared to have been poisoned in some way. The elves believed that the only way to kill a dragon was to poison it, so their archers were employing that line of thinking when they attacked. The missiles snapped or were deflected as they came into contact with the impenetrable scales of this black dragon. The legends said the black dragons were the most fierce and unstoppable breed. It was very unusual for one to appear in the first place, but it was even more disconcerting to have a black one assailing them.
As the arrows continued uninterrupted, Kana chided her fierce beast to unleash his fiery breath on the assailants. Kana also called upon the clouds to gather together, and in moments there were flashes of lightning everywhere. Huge fireballs rained down from the skies and smashed into the southern part of the outer wall. As the battle grew in intensity, the dragon soared high into the air as if it were leaving. Just as the beast became a black dot in the sky, a series of red fire balls were heading right for the elven defenders. They smashed with great force into the wall, sending debris flying fifty feet into the air.
As the hail of fire continued from Kana’s storm, a deafening roar ripped through the air that sent chills downs the spines of everyone in the city. The barrage of arrows halted suddenly as the archers ran for better cover. The furious guardian created a wall of fire along a portion of the defensive wall instantly consuming the elves that had been firing on her. She landed her dragon atop the wall and dismounted elegantly. She immediately sent out a strong gale of wind that drove any would-be attackers flying through the air. The dragon leaned over the wall and began snatching up helpless elves. The entire southern part of the city was ablaze now, and the king’s guard was now making their way toward the fray. They hesitated once they saw who and what it was that was attacking them. Verandos Tenowernal appeared out of nowhere to urge the soldiers on. The druid then changed into an enormous white bear and ran to the front of the guard. He stood up on his hind legs and roared ferociously into the air. Heartened by this display of leadership and courage, the guard joined the attack.
Kana caught sight of the king’s guard and the venerable druid Verandos and decided that she had their attention. She returned to her steed and mounted him right away. As the dragon took off into the air, he ripped chucks on the wall off with his powerful talons. He dropped them into the approaching troops as they departed in haste. Several of the king’s guard were unable to avoid the massive blocks and were smashed into the cobble stone pavement. The dragon roared again as it gained altitude, sending a renewed shudder down the collective spines of the elves. The capital was in complete disarray after this vicious attack. Many could not believe that there was a dragon on the loose after all these years. They were troubled by the invincible person that appeared to be controlling the beast. No one knew what or who she was. Terror gripped their hearts as they stood there surrounded by fire and scattered debris. The messenger owl had warned them about the orcs and the dragon, but the bird failed to mention anything about the mysterious rider.
As Kana made her way swiftly to where the high elves were waiting for the signal to attack, she wondered what went wrong with their plans. She did not worry about what had happened for too long because she totally trusted in General Nero to handle the situation. She knew that he was capable of employing several different battle tactics and his command over his troops was built on mutual trust. She turned her wondering thoughts to the high elves that were waiting just minutes away. She was flying much faster now because of the early warning that the elves received about her approach. If they knew she was coming, then they must already know about the orc army. They probably do not know about their brethren waiting for them on their northern border. This thought brought a satisfied smile to her face. She knew that their approach would go unnoticed until it was too late. She knew that she could count on their stealth capabilities, whereas the orcs could be relied upon for the brute strength and fierce loyalty to their generals.