We’re now closing in on the end as we come to the twenty-second chapter of Rage of the Old Gods, the first book of my epic science fantasy trilogy the World Spectrum. In the coming weeks, I will be posting the entire book for free on this blog. If you’re just joining us, you can get caught up with the previous chapters now.

As the Gods’ army nears humanity’s last bastion, the survivors turn to increasingly desperate measures in the hopes of preserving the species, but Leha refuses to abandon her principles. Will humanity’s continued existence come at the cost of its soul? Is surviving the current crisis worth dooming the future?

———————

Chapter twenty-one: Something Higher

The lights danced before Yarnig’s eyes.

Since the battle by the ocean, he had put most of his time and energy into exploring his newfound magical abilities. It helped him keep his mind away from Natoma. Erik had originally urged him to go to Natoma and attempt to win her over, but Yarnig refused to go back on his word to her. He would wait until after the war – if it ever ended. Erik was fascinated by the new abilities he could access with Yarnig’s aid, so he soon forgot to meddle in the emperor’s personal life.

There were many magical abilities, such as Healing, that were so complex as to be out of reach of most wizards. Currently, they were working on another such magical art: illusion.

Most wizards had some ability to bend light – that was how scrying worked – but to create a three-dimensional, believable image of something was extremely difficult. And so they sat in front of Yarnig’s tent, in the hot summer sun, and tried to create images of things that weren’t there.

Yarnig held his hands before him and bit his lip in concentration. In his mind, he wove the strands of light together in a matrix so complex that even he had trouble maintaining it. In the air between him and Erik, the image of a long sword appeared and hovered above the ground. It was blurry, and it flickered oddly.

Yarnig furrowed his brow and forced the energies to cooperate. The image solidified into something indistinguishable from a real sword.

He relaxed slightly, and the image vanished.

Erik and Yarnig’s shoulders slumped in unison.

Sighing, Yarnig opted to take a break, and the ice creature helping them broke the link. Erik tossed him a flask of water, and Yarnig drank greedily of the cool liquid. The weather had been unusually hot lately, though the frequent rains provided moments of relief.

The sound of shovels in the dirt came to them from the outer edge of the camp.

“Maybe we should go back to carving things,” Erik suggested, his breathing heavy.

Yarnig had already shown talent in using magic to carve, shape, and craft items of exquisite detail, an artistic skill that Urannan wizards had been famous for. He had produced a collection of large, flat rocks bearing carvings every bit as intricate and detailed as his sketches had been.

He shook his head. “No, I think I need to keep at the illusion. We’ll get it right.”

Erik let out a breath. “Okay.”

After a few more minutes’ rest, they linked with each other again. Something simpler this time, Yarnig thought. They held out their hands, and a dim brown cloud coalesced between them. Yarnig frowned in concentration, and the cloud coalesced into a perfect replica of the water flask.

Yarnig breathed out slowly, trying to ease his tension without losing concentration. He and Erik decided to try for something harder. The flask dissolved, and in its place, a bottle of brandy, like the ones he had enjoyed at his country home, took its place.

Again, he made himself relax. The image stayed stable.

Yarnig’s brow furrowed in concentration, and the bottle dissolved to reshape itself into the image of the sword. This time, it didn’t vanish.

They experimented with moving the illusory sword, shifting it from vertical to horizontal and back again. Yarnig began to move the sword in a series of cuts and stabs.

The motion of the sword suddenly made him think of Natoma. He tried to push the thought out of his mind, and the image melted away.

He dropped his hands, swearing in his mind. He blushed brightly as he realized that the ice creature could sense his thoughts as well as Erik could.

I’m sorry, he sent to Erik as he tried to reorder his thoughts.

That’s all right, Erik thought, his reply tinged with hints of what he thought Yarnig should do about Natoma.

Yarnig ignored his friend’s opinions. They rested briefly as Yarnig refocused his attention, then returned to their work.

* * *

Near the northern edge of the camp, Leha sat upon a trebuchet and surveyed the camp. It would have been extremely difficult for a normal Barrian to reach her perch, but her enhanced agility had allowed her climb the massive engine easily, and her augmented reflexes allowed her to sit upon the timbers at the crown of its frame without fear of falling.

In the back of her mind, she felt the presence of one of Benefactor’s people. It had created a very minimal link between her and some members of the rearguard so that she could channel Tyzuan energy too them. It was the only way they could hope to reach the camp before the machines did. Leha had grown so used to doing it over the past few days that she barely noticed it. Only a slight, ever present feeling of fatigue reminded her of it.

The air was hot, but a cool wind blew from the mountains. A bank of clouds darkened the sky to the northeast and brought the smell of rain.

Her gaze swept the area. It was the fifth day after the battle by the ocean. In a short time, her people had made remarkable progress in preparing the camp. The clearing of trees was nearly complete, and, at the north end at least, the earthworks, war engines, and other defenses were finished.

When fully complete, the earthworks would encircle the camp in two concentric rings – they were but a pair of crescents at this point. Each ring would have four small gaps for people to move in and out. The gaps in the outer ring were aligned to the points of the compass, and those in the second ring were offset so as to ensure there was no straight, clear path into the camp. Each ring was slightly taller than an average Clan or Tor man, so they significantly outstripped Leha in height. An Automaton would be able to walk over or through them, but they would provide some protection from spells and airborne debris.

To the southwest, the defenses still needed much work. She saw people scurrying about, like ants, in a feverish attempt to prepare that section of the camp.

Just beyond them, smoke from the forges streamed into the sky as Drogin’s people worked to manufacture as much weaponry and armor as they could before the Automatons arrived. Leha had given the order that everyone in the camp was to be armed when the attack came, even those that would not be part of the defense. There was a good chance that the Automatons would breach the defenses and reach the civilians. If that happened, she didn’t want anyone to be without some means of defending themselves.

Limits on time and resources meant that many would be forced to make do with nothing but a few javelins of sharpened wood, but some would be lucky enough to receive crossbows or narviks. Some tools, such as pickaxes, could be used against the machines; those would be given out as well. Even Benefactor, whom she had begged to join the evacuation, and the other remaining ice creatures that weren’t wizards would be given crossbows.

As the days had progressed, the people of the camp had grown increasingly edgy. She saw the worry in their eyes, the fearful way they moved. Tempers had grown short, and arguments and disputes broke out often.

She couldn’t blame them. There was a good chance that the machines would kill them. Many of them had been separated from their families during the evacuation. And for the most part, there was nothing for them to do to make themselves feel useful or to take their mind off the impending attack. Aside from building the earthworks and doing other chores, all they could do was sit and hope Leha and her soldiers would be able to save them. She only wished she could have done better for them.

Her eyes turned back to the north slowly, taking in the camp as a whole. In comparison to the vast wilderness around it, the camp had always seemed tiny, a speck almost swallowed by the forest. But now she realized how large it was. It had housed many thousand people, and it was the size of a small city. It seemed like such a large area to defend.

To the north, a deep, wide trench had been cut in the barren fields. This was the source of the soil and stones the earthworks were made of. The trench was another obstacle the machines would have to avoid.

Farther north, she could see a line, cut by the River Sheen, through the endless trees and beyond that, the dark lump of Yeldar. They had considered moving the camp to the mountain and defending it, but it was too steep and rugged to be made habitable, or defendable, in the amount of time available. She wondered if the Automatons would destroy the First One outpost inside. She hoped they wouldn’t; if its secrets could ever be deciphered, it might have much to teach them.

She felt an ice creature touch her thoughts, but it was not the one connecting her to the retreating army. It was Benefactor. Leha, he said, sounding concerned.

What is it? she sent, wondering what had him so worried.

You must come to the command tent. You will not like it.

She frowned. She leapt off the edge of the trebuchet, cushioning her landing with the energy of Sy’om. Benefactor, what is it?

An image appeared in her mind: a large crowd outside the tent that had replaced the Clan hall as the main meeting area for her and the other leaders. Natoma stood before the crowd, attempting to keep order. Leha heard someone at the fore of throng say, “We want to see Leha. We want to be made like her.”

Her insides chilled, and she groaned. You’re right. I don’t like it.

She sensed Benefactor duck his head sadly.

She set off for the command tent at a steady jog, a damp wind from the northeast blowing at her back. She felt herself break out in a nervous sweat. She had feared something like this might happen. This time, she didn’t think people would be willing to accept her usual explanations about it being too risky. She hoped they would understand her true reasoning. She hoped she was doing the right thing.

Sensing her distress, Eranna and Doga’s minds became more present within the mental link. At the same time, they dismissed the other soldiers Leha had connected to so they wouldn’t sense her thoughts – the ice creature would, but they did not reveal information that their human allies considered private or privileged; for a people that kept no secrets among each other, they were fairly good at keeping those of others.

Leha wordlessly communicated the situation to Doga and Eranna. They sent her their sympathy, though they didn’t agree with her decision not to create more with her abilities. She thanked them.

We’ll break the link so you can concentrate fully, Eranna sent.

We should take a break soon anyway, Doga added.

Leha thanked them again. The link broke, and she felt a moment of relief as she stopped channeling energy to the army.

She arrived at the command tent. A crowd of about twenty people, mostly soldiers, had gathered before it. A few paces behind them, a much larger crowd had gathered and were chattering amongst each other.

Natoma stood in front of the tent, watching over the assembled people with a keen eye. She saw Leha approach and nodded to her. Leha came to stand beside her.

Before she could speak, a tall man – she recognized him as Karn, one of Eranna’s men – detached himself from the smaller group and bowed to her. “Leha, forgive our imposition,” he said, speaking accented Eastenholder. He straightened and gestured to the others in his little group. “We have come to volunteer ourselves. We wish to be changed, as you were.”

She started to speak, but he held up his hand. “We are aware of the risks. We know we could come to harm. But the machines will be here within days. We’ll need every advantage if we are to defend ourselves.” He looked at his comrades. “We’re willing to take our chances if it means we can make a difference.”

They nodded solemnly.

Leha felt her throat tighten. They really did believe in what they said. I hope I’m doing the right thing.

She swallowed, and spoke. “No. It won’t happen.”

Karn frowned, looking confused.

She pressed on, speaking loud enough for the larger crowd to hear. “I have always said that to transform others as I was would be very risky, and that’s true. The Lost One ability to change their venom is not an exact science, and the one who changed me is dead. We don’t know if we can replicate what was done to me.”

She stood tall, trying to appear more certain than she felt. “But that is not the only reason why I have forbid the creation of others like me.”

A murmur ran through the assembled people. Karn’s group exchanged glances.

“In the past, humanity has made many mistakes. We’ve launched pointless wars and committed atrocities against each other. We resurrected the Automatons and brought these current troubles upon ourselves.

“My abilities have the potential to be very destructive. I don’t think that I can trust anyone with that kind of power. I – ”

The crowd erupted. People yelled and booed and shouted. They shook their fists and made angry gestures.

Leha enhanced her voice and shouted to be heard over the tumult. “I wouldn’t trust myself with them, but I didn’t have any choice in the matter!”

Her words did nothing to stem the tide of screams and accusations. The larger crowd grew increasingly unruly, their voices pounding at her.

“Listen to me!” she shouted.

Natoma stepped forward. “She does this because she thinks it is right!” she said, her voice loud and commanding without seeming angry or belligerent. “We all owe our lives to her many times over! You should at least hear her out.”

The crowd quieted somewhat. Many of them seemed uncertain.

Leha felt a surge of gratitude for Natoma’s words. She took a breath and tried again to explain herself. “I understand your feelings. Really, I do. But I have to think about the consequences of this. And I worry what could happen if everyone had the abilities that I do.”

People in the larger group continued to grumble.

“Who are you to do decide that no one is worthy? Are you going to keep us inferior, under your power, like the Old Gods did?” a man yelled to her.

She flushed angrily. “I am nothing like the Old Gods! I don’t do this for me; I do this for the future! Can any of you promise me that no human will ever raise their hands against another again? Can you?” She scanned the throng, her eyes fierce.

She flexed her claws and took a moment to calm down. “I haven’t judged everyone unworthy. As you said, I’m not qualified. So who will judge who has earned it and who hasn’t? How can anyone’s judgment be good enough for them to decide who should wield this kind of power and who shouldn’t?”

The people stayed mostly silent, weighing her words. Some still mumbled to each other or threw her suspicious glances.

Not everyone in the camp had joined the initial gathering, and now others began to arrive to see what the commotion was.

A woman from Karn’s group, a Lost One, came forward and bowed her head. “I understand what you say,” she said. “I will respect your decision.”

Without another word, the Lost One left.

Leha nodded to her dumbly, taken aback by the suddenness of her decision.

“Why not simply give this power to everyone? Things would be equal. No one would have an advantage,” another man from the mob said.

Leha glared at him. “No one had an advantage when every nation had Automatons. That didn’t work out, did it?”

An angry rumble came from the masses.

Karn addressed her. “Leha, I understand your point of view,” he said respectfully. “But isn’t the time to play it safe past? The future is uncertain; right now, we know we need this. Once we’ve survived the machines, we can decide how to proceed.”

“No!” she said.

Natoma glanced at her quickly, seeming surprised at the strength of Leha’s emotions.

Leha shook her head and looked down, trying to rein in her anger.

She tilted her head back up and spoke to all assembled. “If you really disagree with me, if you really think it would be right to give more people these powers, prove me wrong. Stop seeking them! Prove that you can dedicate yourself to something higher than your own survival.

“Maybe there will come a time when I can trust people to wield this kind of power.”

She stared at the throng, her expression resolute, and those in the crowd, save for a few, stared back, appearing equally determined.

Eventually, it became clear to both sides that no resolution would be reached, and the people slowly returned to their lives and duties, continuing to grumble and look upon her with distrust. Their glances and harsh whispers sent an aching sadness through her. She had protected them for more than a year. She had risked her life and sacrificed, and now, it seemed to her, all their trust in her, all their gratitude for what she had done, had been washed away in just a few minutes.

Karn’s group started to dissipate not long after the larger crowd did, but Karn himself did not move. After a few minutes, Leha realized that he did not intend to leave.

“My decision is final, Karn,” she said tiredly, returning her voice to normal.

He stepped towards her. “I understand your point of view. I truly do,” he said. “But I think you need to be willing to accept that you may be wrong. You’re just one person. You can make mistakes. I ask you to reconsider.”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand. You can’t understand.” You don’t have the future of humanity on your shoulders.

He peered into her eyes. “Then make me understand. Get an ice creature to link our minds.”

Leha considered for a moment. “All right,” she said. “We’ll link.”

She closed her eyes and reached out to Benefactor. She conveyed what she needed.

She sensed him duck his head, and her mind began to link with Karn’s.

They started at the basic level of linkage that was normally used, where she sensed his assurance in his own rightness and his calm certainty, but then they progressed to a deeper, more profound link.

He saw her belief in her rightness, and the toll that having responsibility for the human race had taken on her. She, in turn, saw his belief that surviving in the here and now was more important than any undetermined future. She also saw that nothing in her mind surprised him.

Her jaw hung slack.

He did understand. And he still disagreed.

* * *

There were no more confrontations that day, but the air in the camp remained tense. Whenever Leha went somewhere, conversations would suddenly stop, or people would peer at her suspiciously, or they would avoid looking at her. Sometimes, they offered support for her decision, but those instances were rare.

The debate over whether she was doing the right thing seemed to send fractures through the people of the camp. She had trouble assessing things herself – most people no longer felt comfortable sharing their thoughts with her around – but many Lost Ones and the majority of Benefactor’s people agreed with her, and they funneled information to her.

From what her informants could tell, about half of the people in the camp were convinced she was wrong, and some of these were very vocal. Less than a fifth openly admitted to agreeing with her, though it was suggested that there were some who felt that way but would not say so. The rest were unsure of what stance to take. Many members of the camps for and against her decision had taken it upon themselves to convince others of their beliefs, and that led to a great deal of conflict. Arguments broke out all over the camp. Leha had heard raised voices herself on more than one occasion.

Thankfully, none of the confrontations had turned violent, and everyone was continuing to follow her orders and perform their duties – for now, at least. Things had spiraled out of control so quickly that Leha half-expected open mutiny soon.

Leha deeply regretted the timing of this. Eranna and Doga’s latest reports said that the machines would reach the camp within the next three days. Her people could not afford to be splintered like this so soon before a battle.

Her friends had put a great deal of effort into selling people on her policy. Natoma, especially, had been vocal in her defense of Leha. Leha was told that Drogin refused to let any of the forge workers or technicians speak ill of her while they worked. Even Doga and Eranna, who did not agree with her, had done their best to convince the rearguard – and via the link, those in the camp – that she should be supported for the sake of unity. Doga’s words had gone a long way towards building her support among the Lost Ones.

The efforts of the other leaders did a great deal to shore up support for her, but the camp remained divided. A hard knot of worry settled into Leha’s stomach and stayed there throughout the day.

That evening, as the sun dropped towards the peaks to the west and the heat of the day reduced to a more tolerable balminess, Drogin joined Leha outside her tent. Leha started a fire with wood that steamed from the afternoon rains, and they set a pot of soup over it. The soup was made from mushrooms from the forest and dried meat. It would barely feed the both of them.

They sat on stools to stay above the moist ground, and as they waited for their food to cook, they spoke of the events of the day. Leha would have preferred a more private location, but luckily few people were in the immediate vicinity. Only a few voices drifted from nearby tents.

She unloaded her worries and frustrations onto him, and he did his best to offer support.

“You’ll win them over,” he told her reassuringly. “You’re very good at persuading people.”

She nodded numbly and went on as if she hadn’t heard him.

As time went on, and their soup began to boil, they ran out of things to say, and the conversation died for a time.

“Maybe – maybe you should give in. Let the future be what it will be. Maybe you’re thinking too much; maybe this is too much for you to handle,” he suggested after a few minutes.

She frowned at him, feeling too tired to summon her earlier passion.

“For anyone to handle,” he added quickly.

He sighed and ran a hand through his sandy hair. “I just want to help. I wonder if all this planning and worrying for the future is too much. I understand why you want to keep these powers from spreading, but maybe it is best to do what’s right for the present and face the future when it comes.”

She nodded slowly. “I understand what you’re saying, and I appreciate it. But I have to stick to what I believe in.” She chewed her lip, thinking.

“You said that Tyzu changed me. Maybe you’re right; maybe some of that world’s savagery is now a part of me. But what the Lost Ones did to me imparted me with a piece of Sy’om, as well.

“Do you understand what a different perspective Benefactor’s people have, the way their world has shaped them? They don’t have war, or conflict. Sy’om will not permit it of them; they can only survive together. They think only of what is best for their race as a whole, over the long haul – and they remember their ancestors’ lives as their own, so their perspective of history is so much better than ours.”

She ran her fingers through her hair, mirroring his own use of the old family tic. “Ever since I came back from the other worlds the first time, I can’t bear the thought of our people being divided, of human warring against human again. I certainly won’t do anything that could let us do more harm to each other in the future. Bad enough that we must use weapons at all; my claws and my powers could be worse than an army of Automatons in the wrong hands. I’d sooner we all died now, together, as one people, than see a repeat of what happened to Three Gates.”

Her brother’s eyes were wide, and her cheeks burned as she realized she’d frightened him.

But he placed his hand on hers and said, “I understand.” And she knew he did.

She managed a shaky smile.

Drogin returned an equally fragile smile.

Their served their soup a short while later, and Leha ate it without tasting what little flavor it had.

She retired early, but she didn’t fall asleep for a very long time. She tossed and turned in her bedroll, mulling over the events of the day and trying to come up with some plan to resolve things. She couldn’t help but think of her conversations with Eranna and Lahune, of her mission to save humanity from itself. If they could not stay unified now, when the fate of three worlds depended on it, she didn’t know if they would ever be able to.

Despite her strong belief that she was doing the right thing, a part of her started to wonder if she had been wrong all along, and that part grew louder throughout the night. She had assumed that her way was the only right way, that anyone who understood the pressures on her would agree with it. But her link with Karn had proven that to be false. Now, she didn’t know what to think. Maybe it was unfair of her. Maybe people deserved access to power such as this. There was no guarantee that it would be abused.

Part of her echoed Drogin’s sentiments, saying that the answer was beyond someone such as her. Near midnight, she began to wonder if she should be bothering with any of her efforts to safeguard the future. Trying to bring lasting peace to the entire human race seemed far beyond a simple shopkeeper from Three Gates.

It wasn’t until well after midnight that exhaustion finally claimed her.

———————

Enjoying the story so far? The next chapter will be posted soon, but if you can’t wait, you also have the opportunity buy the full ebook now!

We come now to the twenty-first chapter of Rage of the Old Gods, the first book of my epic science fantasy trilogy the World Spectrum. In the coming weeks, I will be posting the entire book for free on this blog. If you’re just joining us, you can get caught up with the previous chapters now.

The Gods march on humanity’s last bastion beyond the Gormorra Range. The land itself bars their way, but they are ready to unleash the full power that saw them viewed as divine. They will not, cannot, be stopped.

———————

Chapter twenty-one: Bridged by Fire and Ice

The machines’ retreat and the celebration to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Heart provided a welcome respite for Leha and her army. For a few days, they had been able to forget about the perils of war. But with the dawning of the next day, they knew that time had ended. They knew that the Automatons could come at any moment, and the air of the camp was thick with tension.

Sentries patrolled the edge of the camp, watching the marshlands to the west and waiting for some sign of their enemy. Leha joined them in their vigil, and hour followed hour as she scanned for the first sign of danger.

Just before noon, it came.

“Look!” a watchman to her left said.

She looked where he pointed. West and slightly south of the camp, she saw a bright, flickering light.

“What is that?” she said softly.

Word had already begun to spread. She heard her soldiers scurrying for their weapons and conversing in quick bursts. People with handheld bells sounded the alarm.

Leha squinted and enhanced her eyes to better see the light over the marshlands. Even with her vision enhanced, she had trouble deciphering its nature. It looked to be some sort of magic, and it seemed to be moving closer, but she could tell nothing beyond that.

She glanced at her assembling people, returning her eyes to their normal state. “I’m going to run out and see what I can see.” She gestured to a Tor battle wizard. “With me.”

She summoned Tyzu’s energy, feeling it course through her body, and darted out onto the plain, the wizard following close behind. A cold feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. Where the Automatons were concerned, unknown things were rarely good things.

The salty air whipped past her as she flew across the plain. Her hair streamed out behind her, and her feet kicked up rocks and loose soil. The ground began to slope downward and grow damp. She came to a stop. The battle wizard did the same a moment later.

Returning to Barria’s energy level, she again enhanced her vision and scanned the horizon, and the wizard extended his staff. The energy hovered over the distant western marsh, swirling and sparking and crackling. Beneath it, she could barely glimpse the dark forms of the Automatons.

“Can you sense anything?” she asked.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shake his head. “They’re drawing a lot of power, but they don’t seem to be using it for anything.”

Leha frowned.

The machines grew closer, and the green-white light on the horizon grew brighter. She began to see details of the individual machines; they moved in a long, thin column across the moors.

She arched an eyebrow. They shouldn’t have been able to walk across the marshes. They should have sunk and become mired.

“How exactly are they drawing power?” she asked.

“As far as I can tell, they’re just pulling it up from the ground and releasing it into the air,” the wizard said.

Something clicked in her mind. “They’re freezing the marshes and rivers by pulling out all the energy. It gives them a path to walk.”

The wizard’s jaw hung slack, but he did not disagree.

Leha stared, awestruck, at the Automaton column. This was power. This was the might of the Old Gods in all its glory.

She funneled Tyzuan energy into as much of the machine army and its surroundings as she could, hoping to overload them. The cloud of energy above them blazed brighter, sending tendrils of crackling light across the sky, and the silver at their wrists burned like stars. But nothing else happened.

Leha swore under her breath. By now, nearly all of the machines were Wizard-Automatons. Many hands make light work.

She returned her eyesight to normal. “Let’s get back to the army,” she said to the wizard.

She channeled Tyzu’s power, and they set off towards the main human force. She continued to flood the Automatons with Tyzuan energy. If nothing else, it would slow them by forcing them to channel more energy, and there was always they chance that one of them might loose control and be overloaded.

* * *

The human army prepared for battle, as they had so many times before. Crossbows were loaded, javelins were readied, armor was donned, and swords were drawn. Leha and the other leaders ordered their people into a long crescent formation that would net the machines as they emerged from the marshes. Parties of Clanspeople were scattered around the area; they would catch any Automatons that broke through the formation or tried to avoid it. Barrian, Lost One, and ice creature wizards scattered through the ranks and readied their magic for use in battle. The mental link spread like webbing through the minds of the army.

Leha, now dressed in her leather armor and equipped with the blade Drogin had made for her, took her position in the front ranks at the center of the crescent. There, she waited.

A bank of dark clouds had begun to roll in from the north. It dimmed the sky and brought the scent of rain, but for now, the sun continued to shine.

Out over the marshes, the Automatons’ column had come close enough to be seen clearly by all in the human army. The energy above them roared and twisted like some insane storm, and the air around it shimmered with heat. The ground froze beneath their feet, forming frost that twinkled in the light of the energy above. Between the fire and the ice walked the Automatons.

A few ranks in, she could see the three-pronged crown of the Automaton Lord. The sight made Leha shudder. The air reverberated with the distant thunder of their footfalls.

She was reminded of the meeting she had called in Elder Sheen’s home, several months ago. She remembered saying that they could never hope to hold a fixed position against the superior might of the Automatons. She hoped she had been wrong. If they lost the eastern camp, she didn’t know where they would find another safe hiding spot.

The Automatons reached the last river before the edge of the marshlands and began to freeze it. As their efforts cut off the flow of water, the river began to flood its banks, and this water, too, was frozen, creating a great fan of sparkling ice that spread across the marshlands.

Soon, the Automatons would arrive on the plain. Leha and the other leaders ordered the battle wizards to attack, and a spray of magical strikes, enhanced by Tyzu’s power, burst from the ranks to hurl themselves at the machines.

Some of the swirling energy above the Automaton army twisted down into a curtain that wrapped around the front ranks and deflected the human spells. Leha brought the Automatons at the fore of the army down to Sy’om’s level of energy – it would make it easier for them to freeze the marshes, but it would also weaken their ability to protect themselves with magic. She was pleased to see that the sudden change caused one of the machines to lose its footing. It fell sideways, its bulk pushing it through the shield, and it landed in a pile of unfrozen muck. It twisted feebly in an attempt to rise.

The battle wizards reacted quickly, blasting the fallen machine with so much fury that even its lead armor failed to protect it.

The Automatons struck back, sending their own bursts of energy at the human army. The battle wizards did their best to block and scatter the assaults, but one finger of magic slipped through and slammed into the southern half of the crescent. Dirt, ash, and body parts flew into the sky, and a wave of hot air washed over the army, bringing it with it the smell of charred flesh. Some of the soldiers near where the spell had struck screamed. Their fellows in the link tried to calm them.

The battle between the machines and the wizards continued to rage. The roar and hiss of great magics boomed across the plain, and lights burst through the sky as spells and counter spells smashed into each other. The shield around the Automatons rippled and flashed as the battle wizards hammered at it. More strikes slipped through the defenses of the humans and their allies to carve holes from the ranks of Leha’s army and scar the plain.

Slowly, the machines moved closer to the edge of the marshes.

Leha frowned as she surveyed the situation. We should try the feedback spell, she thought.

She conferred with the other leaders, and they reluctantly agreed. Since the destruction of Drogin’s machine at Marlhem, they had rarely made use of the spell. It had always been unreliable, and the Automaton Lord’s ability to withstand it had done nothing to increase their confidence in it. But now, it seemed they had little choice.

Three battle wizards were given the order. They took control of spells sent by the Automatons and bent them back to their creators. Three loops of blinding energy took shape over the plains, emitting a high-pitched whine that set Leha’s teeth on edge. She poured Tyzu’s power into the machines while funneling the energy of Sy’om into the battle wizards.

The loops burned brightly, but the machines withstood it. Leha’s heart beat faster.

Two of the battle wizards began to scream, and their bodies burst into green-white flame. Their feedback loops failed, and the backlash ripped through the ranks of Leha’s army, killing all those who had been near the wizards.

Leha had not been connected to their minds directly, but she could feel the horror of those who had. She shook her head and struggled to maintain calm.

She reached out to the remaining wizard’s mind. Stop! she cried psychically.

The wizard broke off the spell, but the backlash still wounded him and several soldiers.

Leha felt the worries of the other leaders echo her own. Natoma, the most composed among them, did her best to radiate calm.

Leha refocused her attention on the machine army, hoping to find something positive. The battle continued much as it had. One spell managed to worm its way through the Automaton shield – Yarnig was behind it, she learned via the link – and cripple one machine. It toppled to the ground and was destroyed by further spells, but dozens more Automatons remained in the column.

The first of the machines reached the edge of the marshes, the shield dissolved, and they fanned out. Some were damaged by the attacks of the battle wizards, but most managed to defend themselves. Leha and the other leaders moved their army forward, bringing the prongs of the crescent in to flank the machines. The Automatons became too scattered for Leha to keep them all at one energy level, so she switched to channeling the powers of the other worlds as her people had need of them.

Those in the center of the crescent charged to meet the machines. Leha led them, running ahead of all others, her body gliding through the air. Even before she reached the first Automaton, she knew that things were not going well.

Her forces were too few. Too many had been lost in previous battles. They did not have the advantage of surprise, as they had at Tallatzan. The Automatons were not spread too thin, as they had been in the battles of the past days. Her people could not take advantage of the terrain. They had no forests to hide in, no high ground to take – at best, they might be able to drive some of the machines into the marshes. They had nothing to rely on but strength of arms, and in that contest, the Automatons had the advantage.

She tried to think positive thoughts. Her doubt would be poison in the mental link.

Her feet left the ground, and she landed on the cool chest of an Automaton. She dug in her claws and leapt a second time, landing on its featureless face. It attacked her with its magic, but a battle wizard summoned a shell of protective energy around her.

Her blade shot from its sheath, and she plunged it through the glass pane of one the machine’s balefully glowing eyes. The light went out.

The Automaton’s legs began to crumple, and slowed by the energy of Sy’om, it glided backward in slow-motion. Leha climbed onto the crown of its head. There, she screwed up her legs and jumped, flying over the plains to land on the left shoulder of another machine. She fluttered about its neck, sped by Tyzu’s energy as she weakened the machine with Sy’om’s, and attacked the supports of its neck. Stinging smoke and sparks flew as she worked.

The neck crumpled, and the head fell, the metal of the last few connections screaming. Her blade retracted.

She turned around, searching for her next target, and she saw the dark, towering form of the Automaton Lord charge for her. As she made to summon Sy’om’s energy and weaken it, it raised its fist and launched a bolt of energy at her.

Fear stabbed through her heart.

The battle wizards connected to her dropped what they were doing and pooled their energy to create a shield around her. The shield met the Machine King’s attack with a clap like thunder and a blast of heat.

The concussion sent her flying backward over the plains. She plummeted towards the ground. Just before she landed, she brought herself down to Sy’om’s energy level. She thudded into the rocky soil.

She pushed herself up with her hands. She would have bad bruises, but she had suffered no worse injuries.

She heard a clanking of metal behind her. She rolled onto her back and saw a lead-plated fist hurl itself toward her. She rolled to the right, and the Automaton’s fist slammed into the earth where she had been a moment before. She activated her blade and swung at the fist, severing its thumb in a spray of hot flame.

It raised its other hand. The silver at its wrist sparkled with magic. She made to dodge.

A length of rope spread between two silver globes passed into her vision and wrapped itself around the Automaton’s neck. The Clan rope pushed it backwards, and it crashed into the ground.

A squad of whooping Clanspeople charged in and attacked the machine with their narviks. Leha felt a rush of gratitude. Distracted by her own problems and other groups within the link, she had not been paying attention to this detachment. She poured Sy’om’s energy into the Automaton, and it was soon dispatched. The Clanspeople moved on.

She crawled up onto the chest of a ruined Automaton, feeling its unnaturally cold skin beneath the soles of her feet. She took in the battle raging around her, her vision enhanced by the knowledge granted to her through the telepathic link.

For now, her army held the Automatons at bay at the edge of the marshes, but they wouldn’t continue to do so for long. Already, the machines were close to breaking through the crescent. Once they did that, they would be able to flank the human forces or attack them from behind.

The only thing that had kept the Automatons from overwhelming them before now was the fact that more than half of the machines were still trapped on the narrow corridor across the wetlands. In their rush to join the battle, a few Automatons had lost their footing and become trapped in the mire.

Though slowed by Sy’om’s energy and squads of human soldiers, the Automaton Lord bore down on her, crushing everyone in its path. From where she stood, she could hear the screams of its victims.

With every passing moment, she saw the Automatons make more gains and felt more minds vanish from the link. At that moment, she knew the battle could not be won.

As soon as it arose, she fought to crush the thought, but it was too late. The knowledge spread through the army like wildfire, killing hopes and bringing doubt into the hearts of the soldiers. The other leaders were forced to admit their agreement with her, and the despair strengthened. Doga alone still held hope, and his shrunk quickly in the face of the others’ feelings.

Leha felt the heartbreak and disappointment pound at her like a wave. Her throat constricted, and she felt ready to weep. I’m sorry, she thought. I failed you.

The demoralized forces of humanity began to dissolve. The best efforts of Leha, Natoma, and the others failed to make them stand their ground. The Automatons pressed the advantage.

Leha’s heart ached. She wanted to fall to her knees and cry, to give herself to the drowning wash of hopelessness. But she fought against the sorrow and fear and forced her mind through the link, commanding her people to begin an orderly retreat. By strength of will, she turned her people from their mad flight and pushed them back into order. The other leaders added their efforts, and her army pulled together to fight off the attacks of the Automatons as they moved back to the tents of their camp.

The Automatons pursued them at first, nipping at the heels of Leha’s army and picking off stragglers, but then they fell back. They waited at the edge of the marshes for the rest of the machines to complete the crossing.

The clouds from the north had moved in closer, and now they blocked out the sun, bringing shadow to the barren plains. The wind picked up, whipping at the retreating soldiers with cold, damp gusts.

The army made it to the camp, and under the direction of their leaders, they began to dismantle it, leaving behind anything that they could. Leha and the others removed themselves from the link so they could discuss their next course of action. Leha sent her mind south, to the camp on the shores of the River Sheen, and contacted Benefactor. She sent him the knowledge of what had happened.

She sensed him set his jaw and felt a wash of anger at the machines from him. I am sorry, Leha. You did everything you could.

She sent him a wordless message of gratitude.

He connected his and her minds with those of Natoma, Doga, Eranna, and Drogin.

What do we do now? Leha asked without delay. She stood amidst a knot of hurried soldiers breaking the camp, giving what direction was needed with her voice and hands.

They quickly decided to abandon the plain, opting to make for the camp to the south. They also decided to leave behind a force to slow the Automatons advance and keep a watch over the machines. Doga and Eranna volunteered to lead the rearguard.

Leha nodded. Good. Drogin, Natoma, and I will head back to the south and start making further plans. She looked over her shoulder. The Automatons had nearly finished crossing the marshes. We don’t have time right now.

Benefactor broke off the link, and they each went about their next tasks. Leha collected a few things from her tent – the rest would be packed by someone else – and headed for the nearest jumping point to Tyzu. There, at the northeastern corner of the camp, she met Drogin, Natoma, and a handful of other people who would be making the journey to the camp.

Breena, one of those people, raised her staff. But just before she cast the spell to make the jump, she faltered.

Leha frowned. “What is it?”

“There’s no jumping point,” Breena answered, a note of worry in her voice.

Drogin pulled his wand from its sheath. “She’s right,” he said. “It’s gone.”

A gust of wind whipped Leha’s hair, but it was not the source of the cold that settled in her stomach. “They must have brought a barrier machine.”

Breena again raised her staff.

“What are you doing?” Leha asked.

“Scrying.”

The air in the center of the silver hexagon that crowned Breena’s staff shimmered. An image appeared in the empty space. It depicted the marshes from a bird’s eye perspective. At the rear of the Automaton column, a Urannan Sextamaton shambled forward. It looked weathered and beaten, and it seemed to have been the recipient of some hasty repairs. Atop its back, where its siege weapon should have been, a barrier machine had been fused to its armor. The rings of the barrier machine spun faster than Leha had ever seen before, and they glowed with a faint light.

Breena lowered her staff, dispelling the image.

Those in Leha’s group muttered to each other.

“Why is it glowing?” Breena said. “I have seen barrier machines before, but they do not run like that.”

The eyes of Leha and the others turned to Drogin.

Her brother didn’t answer immediately. He furrowed his brow in thought. “If I were to guess, I would say that they are attempting to increase the range it can cover. Depending on how much they’ve been able to enhance its abilities, they may be able to stop us from fleeing the camp to the south while they’re still many miles away from it.”

Leha’s shoulders slumped. “It would explain why they’re willing to take the risk of launching this assault.”

Natoma nodded.

A significant portion of the camp had now been cleared out, and the humans and ice creatures of the army had begun to head south. Leha empowered them with Tyzuan energy to speed their passage. From where she stood, Leha couldn’t see the machines, but she knew their army would be fully assembled soon.

Leha sighed. “We can still make it to Tyzu. We’ll just have to make a new jumping point.”

Breena shook her head. “No, we can’t. For the battle in the Mannall Range, they adjusted their machine to destroy all jumping points immediately.”

Leha swore.

“That might not be the case here,” Drogin chimed in. “If they’re pushing that machine as hard as I think they are, I doubt they’d add to its burden by forcing it to disperse jumping points quickly.” He frowned. “It’s not like we’ll be able to evacuate the eastern camp by makeshift jumping points.”

Breena looked to Leha.

“Try it,” she said.

Breena raised her staff. Drogin and the other wizards in their party added their own abilities, screwing up their faces in concentration. Leha summoned the energy of Tyzu to ease their efforts.

Green-white light enveloped them, and they entered the space between worlds.

* * *

Late that night, Leha leaned against one of the columns in the meeting chamber of the Clan hall. She closed her eyes, wishing she could sleep. Things had been hectic since their return to the camp below the mountains. They had performed the unpleasant duty of informing the camp’s residents that they were no longer safe, and they had begun organizing the evacuation. Even now, people were being herded to the jumping points and sent to safe havens on Sy’om or Tyzu.

The efforts were hampered by the damage inflicted on those worlds by the attacks of the previous winter. Many places that might have offered refuge before had been destroyed. Finding places to send people slowed things down significantly.

The news of the Automatons’ approach had nearly sent the entire camp into panic, and only the fact that such things had happened before, coupled with great effort on the part of Leha and her comrades, had kept a semblance of order in place.

On top of that, Leha had been occupied with aiding the forces still in the north. They had been unable to fight on the plain, so she had fueled them with Tyzuan energy for hours as they ran for rougher terrain, where they at least had a chance of slowing the machines. Once they’d reached the edges of the forests that seemed to cover nearly all the land beyond the Gormorra Range, they had finally been able to set up a resistance. At the same time, she had had to use her abilities to aid those groups trying to jump back to the southern camp. The effort of sending so many people had exhausted the wizards, and hundreds of people had been forced to stay with the rearguard.

The rearguard and the machines had skirmished off and on throughout the day and night, and Leha had given her abilities to aid that as well. She had considered rejoining the fight in person, but as Natoma had reminded her, she needed to conserve her strength for later battles. She would almost certainly have to defend the camp.

For now, the rearguard had moved ahead of the machine army and taken the chance to rest. Rather than being connected to the entire army, as she had been during the battles, her mind was connected to only Eranna, Doga, and Benefactor, who maintained the link. Through the Lost One and the Tor, Leha could see the orange light that illuminated the dark northern sky and smell the smoke that pervaded the forests. The Automatons were burning their way through the trees.

A few feet from Leha, Drogin and Natoma sat on cushions, their stooped forms showing nearly as much fatigue as Leha’s. To their right, Benefactor crouched in a kind of four-legged kneel.

Leha opened her eyes. She didn’t feel as tired as she had during the battles for the northern front, but she longed for her bed.

“I think we can assume that we will have to defend this camp,” Natoma said, breaking the silence. “The Automatons wouldn’t have brought the barrier machine unless they thought it had a strong chance of doing its purpose. We won’t have any chance of creating enough jumping points for our people to escape, especially once the machine army arrives.” She folded her black-sleeved arms – she had shed her plate armor. “So the question we face is not if, but how.”

Leha nodded, grimacing. She felt echoes of agreement from Benefactor, Doga, and Eranna.

Drogin stared at his fingers. Leha didn’t need to link with his mind to know that he was thinking hard.

He raised his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been thinking; our situation may not be as grim as it seems.”

Leha raised her eyebrows.

Drogin continued. “The Automatons have sent everything they have against us, yes. We’re in great danger, yes. But the machines are taking great risks to do this. They’ve cut themselves off from any source of maintenance. They’ve left their settlements virtually undefended. They’ve put everything into this. What does that tell us?”

Leha leaned forward, feeling a thin ray of hope grow within her. “They’re desperate.”

Drogin nodded, the suggestion of a smile beginning to appear on his face. “Yes. My guess is that they spread themselves too thin on the northern front, and they decided they had to abandon the fight. Our victories there and at Tallatzan have them worried, and they’re going to put everything they have into this attack. If we can defeat them here, it could win us the war.”

Leha considered his words. Hope warred with fear within her.

A dark thought passed through her mind and Eranna’s at virtually the same time – she had trouble telling who thought it first: if they lost, it would likely spell the end of the human race.

Reluctantly, she spoke the thought aloud.

A tense silence followed.

“I’m sorry, but we need to know the stakes,” she said as her companions frowned and grimaced. “We cannot abandon the people at this camp, and if we fall, then our race will be leaderless. Those that survive will be hunted down. Even if they escape to Tyzu or Sy’om, the machines will find some way to destroy them, no matter how long it takes.”

She leaned forward and spoke with a strong voice. “That’s why we have to do everything we can to defend this camp. We have to win.”

Doga sent her a wave of agreement. We can’t lose hope. We defeated the Old Gods once before; we can do so again.

Benefactor agreed. We will fight to our last breath, he said simply.

Leha relayed their sentiments.

Natoma nodded.

They turned the discussion to the specifics of their defenses. They estimated that they had about a week before the Automatons arrived. In that time, they would prepare the camp for defense as best they could. Much of the trees around the camp had already been felled to fuel the forges and campfires, but they would clear more to create on open field where they would be able to easily see and target the machines. Much of the wood would go to constructing trebuchets and other engines of war – they were too clumsy to be of much use in the kind of guerilla war they had been fighting for the last few months, but when mobility was not an issue, they were effective weapons against Automatons.

Leha and the others realized they had one advantage in the form of the River Sheen. It cut across the path the machines would take, and it was long enough that the Automatons wouldn’t be able to circumvent it without wasting a great deal of time. Water was damaging to the machines; they would likely have to freeze it before they could cross it. That gave Leha’s people an extra layer of protection. They considered clearing the trees from the northern riverbank, but they realized that they could not predict where the Automatons would try to cross.

The battle in the Mannall Range had shown that Automatons could quickly turn Clan halls into bonfires, so the hall in the camp would be dismantled. Some of its parts could be used in the construction of the war engines.

The discussion then shifted to the topic of reinforcements. They could not strip the Clan lands of their few remaining defenders, but they did opt to recall Brodar and his troops from the Gormorra Range. There was no longer any need for them to guard the passes. They would jump back while they still could.

My people could likely spare a few more warriors, Doga offered after they made the decision about Brodar. It may leave some villages vulnerable to Stassai and other predators, but it will be worth it if we are victorious.

They may come if they wish to, Leha replied, feeling guilty for asking so much of the Lost Ones.

There were other topics to discuss, but they were all tired, so they decided to retire for the night. Leha felt confident that she would be awoken and required to lend her powers to the rearguard at least once.

* * *

Her confidence proved well-founded. Twice in the night, she was awoken to aid the rearguard. When she rose and began her day, she felt nearly as tired as she had before she had gone to sleep.

Before the sun even crested the horizon, preparations for defending the camp were already underway. Drogin and his people went to work constructing weapons and armor of every size and description. The trees around the camp crashed to the ground and were chopped into usable pieces. Brodar arrived and added his people to their forces. Natoma put many of the noncombatants to work building earthworks around the camp – they would not provide much real defense, but every advantage helped, and it gave the people something to do besides worry. Food and water were stockpiled. The sound of people at work provided a backdrop to life in the camp.

Skirmishes between the rearguard and the machines regularly interrupted Leha’s life. Eranna and Doga found they could barely stay ahead of the machines, let alone slow them down in any real way. Midway through the second day after the battle by the ocean, it became clear that the rearguard could do no good, and they focused their efforts on reaching the camp before the machines did. Leha did what she could to speed their journey.

Later that day, Breena approached Leha with an idea.

Leha had been overseeing the construction of the earthworks, giving encouragement to the increasingly frightened and agitated civilians. The day was hot, and she was sweaty. A fair amount of dirt had stuck itself to her clothes and her sticky skin. The air smelled of freshly churned soil.

“You’re familiar with wards, yes?” Breena said after offering her greetings.

Leha nodded, remembering the wards that had been placed in Three Gates to slow the Tor army.

“They are not much used by the Clanspeople, but over the past few months, I’ve learned they are a very common type of magic among the southern nations. Wards are generally not of use against Automatons because of their lead armor. We can’t directly do them harm with wards, but I think we might still be able to make use of them.”

Breena took a breath before continuing. “Wards are essentially spells that activate when someone stumbles into them – any spell can be used. We can’t use an offensive spell, but if we use a small shield spell, we can create a bubble of energy beneath the feet of any machine that steps on the ward. Their lead armor will be repelled by it, and they won’t be able to keep their balance.”

She shrugged. “It’s not much, but it might help.”

Leha nodded and gave a little smile. “It might. We’re going to need every advantage we can get. I’ll get the other wizards working on these wards.” She smiled wider. “Good work.”

Breena smiled back.

Later on, Leha had an idea of her own. She approached Drogin as he oversaw the dismantling of the Clan hall and broached the possibility of creating new feedback weapons, like the one they had used at Marlhem.

Drogin thought it over and came to the conclusion that they could be built. Between what they had salvaged from Automaton wrecks in recent weeks and the remnants of the Clan hall, they had unusually large stores of silver and other metals.

After a bit of discussion, Drogin also said that, with a few modifications to the design and some watchfulness on the part of the operators, they could probably prevent the Machine King from hijacking these like it had the first one, though he didn’t think he could build one strong enough to actually use against the Automatons’ leader. Leha thanked him.

Before she left, she complimented him on the speed at which his people had been able to produce weaponry for the battle – the first trebuchets were already nearing completion.

To that, he replied, “You can get a lot done if you don’t bother to sleep.”

That evening, as the sun began to fall behind the peaks of the Gormorra Range, and the air began to cool, the barrier fell into place. In the space of a few minutes, the jumping points vanished, and the evacuation ended. They had been able to evacuate more people than Leha had expected they would – including all of the children, the infirm, and the pregnant women – but a few thousand civilians remained.

For the barrier to already be affecting them, it had to cover an incredible amount of land. Drogin put it into perspective, saying, “If the machine was in Eastenhold, the barrier would probably cover the entire nation.”

Leha looked toward the north and tried not to shiver.

———————

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