The Search For Kathea, A Leap Into The Chaos Wars-Telios

 The Search For Kathea, A Leap Into The Chaos Wars-Telios

     Suddenly the sound of bells ring out being heard everywhere, but this is not the slow tolling of everyday events, this is a rapid, frenetic tolling. Then she hears the roar of her dragon, sounding the challenge to battle. She hears frantic footsteps racing down the hallway to where she and the others have just finished the task of freeing Aloridian from the Mantella. A runner dashes into the room sliding to a halt as Dettlaff grabs him and stops him from running right into Iriisii.

     Panting and out of breath, he manages to gasp out, "Goddess...an army...comes from... the...south. Your orders?!"

     "Find Atticus and tell him, I want his people spread to all the walls equally. They are to look for other possible incursions from other directions."

     "At once!" Then he disappears back into the hallway on his mission.

     "Dettlaff, go to the south wall, see what we are facing and tell me what you see. Reaper, do the same for the north wall, Rigmor, check the east wall, Elric, take the west wall. Byrsael, for now, please stay with Aloridian, you do not need to stay in here, just do what you must to protect him. I need to call Lilith and see if anything is happening in the capital as well."

     She closes her eyes and sends out a call to Lilith, who immediately answers.

     "Thank all the Gods it's you!"

     "I take it things are heating up there?"

     "That is an understatement! Same thing with you?"

     "Yes, I have everyone doing what they can to see the extent of what is coming. What does it look like there."

     "I really do not have words to describe this. Some of what I am seeing, I have never seen before."

     "Let me see through your eyes, then I may be able to give instructions and advice."

     Lilith lets Iriisii have control and see through her. She can sense and hear her mental comments.

     "It looks like whoever planned this is pulling out all the stops. I see some very nasty opponents out there, I will send help as soon as I can send out a summons. You must keep everyone within the walls and fortify the gates until help comes. No one goes outside the walls until then. I see at least three Balrogs, a dozen corrupted giants, a whole herd of Oliphants, some ancients among them. I will be there as soon as I can get this place settled. But I will send you help, prepare for dragons to arrive, they will be ours so let everyone know."

     "Thank you, we need all that we can get."

     "Don't worry, just concentrate on the gates, elemental warding is the most critical thing you need right now. 'Cold' against the Balrogs, 'Acid shielding' against the giants, if the Oliphants reach the gates, use fire against them, and attack their riders. Kill the riders first then use fire on the Oliphants, that should make them panic without their riders and then they will trample on whoever is in their way."

     "I will spread the word, good luck!"

     Iriisii gathers power and sends a call out to Nodens.

     "My Battlemaster, I need your services."

     "Command me and I will do whatever you wish!"

     Iriisii gives him the rundown on what is going on.

     "Glory! We have Aloridian back with us again! That will be a blow against our foes!"

     "Indeed, it may have been the trigger for this action. Bring whatever forces you think you will need and come to me, I will summon a flight of Dragons to go to Lilith. Once we have our side settled, we will help her in the capital."

     "Then summon Alduin, and let him pick who he wishes to bring, I will bring troops from here. We just finished arming a whole battalion with those 'Betalite' crossbows. Those things are astonishing with their fire rate. They will be among those I bring."

     "Glad to hear they are working out. You can keep this portal open and send your people through, I will call Alduin now, and thank you, my Battlemaster."

     "It is a very small price to pay for your efforts at freeing the minds of our brothers and sisters. And now the first of them is done! All praise to your name!"

     Iriisii searches through the Aether for Alduin, not that she does not know where he is, it is just finding that place from where she is that can be difficult. Then she finds him and speaks her need to him.

     "Mother! What might I be able to do for you?"

     "I need for you to pick a flight of your brothers and prepare for a fight. I have at least two locations being attacked by large armies of varied combatants. Some Balrogs, corrupted giants, Oliphants, who knows what else may be in the offing. Lilith has a greater need of assistance than I do at the moment. I have a dragon here with me, even having just awoken from a ten thousand year sleep, she is quite powerful."

     "She!?"

     "Yes, I know, I was just as surprised. I have sent you Lilith's location, based on my own. Use portals to arrive in mid-air to surprise the enemy. I have told her of your coming, so you will be expected and thus should have no friendly fire."

     "May I use your Dragonriders?"

     "If you wish, certainly, they will make quite an impression on the enemy forces I would imagine."

     "Good, I will get right to it, we will arrive as soon as possible. Good hunting, Mother!"

     "Good hunting, my son."

     Iriisii grabs a nearby runner, "there will be additional troops arriving soon from this portal. Show them the way outside when they arrive. I will be on the south wall should anyone need me."

     "Yes, Goddess."

     She makes her way to the south wall, as Dettlaff moves toward her from where he was observing the army in the distance.

     "What have you seen so far?"

     "They are hanging back out there, just out of clear viewing range. Thay makes me ill at ease with whatever they are preparing that requires secrecy at this point."

     "You and me both. Lilith and the capital are under attack, they have Balrogs, corrupted giants, and even Oliphants, with them. I have asked Nodens to come with what troops he can muster. He says he has an entire battalion equipped with the Betalite crossbows ready to go. And I have called Alduin, he is bringing a flight of dragons with Dragonriders to help Lilith."

     "Dragonriders with them, that would be impressive to see."

     "I told him to arrive through mid-air portals right above the capital. That will shake things up around there."

     "Damn, they have some means of blocking farseeing, any signs of enemies around any of the other walls?"

     "Not at present."

     Iriisii looks around noting how many are on the walls here, and what is the spacing of them. 

     "I wished I could move some of the others here but it would be too tight up here. I guess we will just have to make do for the moment. I could get our dragon to fly me over them, but I am pretty certain they have something in mind if I did that, but there might be another way, somewhat less obtrusively obvious."

     "What do you have in mind?"

     "Taking a ride on the wings of another."

     "Meaning?"

     Iriisii looks around and spots a bird of prey sitting on a treetop observing the open ground, likely looking for dinner. 

     "I am going to hitch my mind to that bird and let him float above that army. His eyesight is perfect for observing from a great height."

     She separates her mind and lets it float over to the bird of prey, where she creates a slender thread to tie them together. She gently nudges him to take to the air and see if that large group on the ground may have stirred anything up that looks delicious. Once the bird is over the army she starts sharing what he is seeing. At first, it is all normal for an advancing army, troops, wagons, tents being set up, everyone scurrying about, except for that area toward the back.

     The bird of prey does not want to move over it, something he smells is not right and his senses steer him away from it. So she just keeps him floating on its edges, watching to catch a glimpse of what is either being hidden or done here. There is a movement within a large tent, and several soldiers are called in to assist with something. There is a struggle within and one soldier manages to get outside clutching his throat. He is followed by three others who grab him and proceed to drag him back into the tent.

     As some other soldiers see if their brother needs help, they are warned away most threateningly, and it looks to her as if they have been selected by their curiosity to be next in line, when one motions to another, pointing them out. Then the 'bird of prey' spots something moving between tents, he makes a dive for it, giving Iriisii a clear look at what it is. 

     A couple of arrows sing out as they pass close by and the 'bird of prey' climbs back up out of range. Iriisii breaks her connection, having seen what wanted to see.

     "We have trouble brewing out there, big trouble!"

     Dettlaff looks at her, not sure he wants confirmation of what he is thinking.

     "Wamphyri?"

     "Yes, they are feeding leeches to some of the soldiers right now. That is why they have not attacked. They do not have the numbers, and if they started before now, there would be mass desertion."

     "What are you going to do?"

     "Yes, indeed, what are you planning, my Battle Mistress?"

     "Nodens! It is good to see you once more, my friend."

     "And you, Dettlaff, I have heard the both of you have been stirring up trouble where ever you go."

     "Trouble seems to find us, that is for certain. Yet it just makes sure that life is never boring for us."

     "As for me..."

     "You have that look on your face again."

     "What look?"

     "The one that says I should turn and run."

     "You have never run from a fight in your life."

     "And you know me too well. All right, what is it you want me to do?"

     "How would you like to drop into the middle of that army from a great height and flatten that camp into the ground?"

     "Now that sounds interesting, tell me more."

     "I want you to fly dragonback with me up above that army. Then we both leap off into the air and drop onto them. You will have 'Altima', which will convert the power you pick up from the fall into a kinetic force wave which will flatten the camp."

     "What are you going to do?"

     "Morph into a dragon and with my dragon companion, we are going to make sure every last Wamphyri leech and warrior is burned to ash."

     "Your dragon companion?"

     Iriisii gestures to her dragon who has silently walked up behind Nodens, Dettlaff with a maniacal grin on his face, as Nodens turns around and sees the white teeth with a snout of such dark blue as to look black. 

     "Never in my existence have I seen one such as you, my lady."

     "He is quite the polite God, is he not?"

     "He can be when he wants to be or is inspired to be. I need you to take us up as high as you can above that army. Then we will drop off and freefall down. Nodens will create a force wave when he lands that will wreak havoc with the main camp. I will morph into my dragon form and the both of us will strafe them into Oblivion. Our target is the back area of the camp.

     What is being done there calls for no survivors, all must be turned to ash. I cannot stress that enough, nothing must leave that area alive."

     "What do we face that requires such action?"

     "Do you know of the Wamphyri?"

     "No, this is the first I have heard of them."

     "Let me share my memories of them with you, it will be faster and you will understand far more than words can convey. I will apologize in advance for this, it will not be pleasant."

     Iriisii opens a mental conduit to her dragon and allows the raw memories to pour across. Once she is done, the dragon raises her head and trumpets a roar of challenge, promising scorched ground and no quarter.

     "Let us go, 'Mother of Dragons'! There are Wamphyri that need to die this day!"

     "Now I really like her! The last one up is...well I will think of something." As he jumps up and settles behind her head. Iriisii climbs up and grabs two neck spikes to stand atop her behind Nodens. As they leap up into the air and climb even as they approach the enemy army. Atticus second in command looks toward her boss, "you look like you wish you were up there with them."

     "After everything she has done for us, this is but the least of what I would do for her if she would but ask."

     "She strikes me as knowing what she wants to do and how best to use her people. There will be more than enough enemies for us to kill in her name."

     "I know, but she would not want us to kill in her name, but rather to kill for what she stands for, in the name of her cause, for the survival of Creation, and for the means of that survival, the 'Great Balance'."

     Sundra, Lilith's second, runs up to where she stands on the wall surrounding the capital city. "Commander, we need help for the east gate, the heat is getting high enough for the gate to start burning!"

     "See what you can find to pile up against it, the mages are doing all they can as it is, if that gate goes down the enemy will flood the city. Damn if only those dragons would show up!"

     Suddenly a portal only about ten feet from her opens and a figure dressed in black and white robes with the scent of lilac and gooseberries precedes her.

     "Yennefer, thank all the Gods!"

     "Lilith. Where is the greatest need? I have a core group of Psijic Mages coming with three pillars at their head."

     "How did you know we needed help, Iriisii has sent for a Dragon Flight but she said nothing about more mages?"

     "The 'Mother' sent a soul hound with word that you needed help. Also, I have a word to pass to Iriisii about something, but this is more important right now."

     "Sundra, take her to the East Gate, we have Balrogs trying to burn the gate down. The only thing that works against them is intense cold. There are corrupted giants out there but they have not been brought forward yet. They wield stones that cast a corrosive beam that acts like acid. There are Oliphants as well, but we know how to deal with them quite effectively."

     "Very well, the gate is first, I will send some Psijics with your second to protect it."

     Yennefer gives the details to the pillars, who parcels the work to the Psijics that came with them. As the last mages come through the gate, two more come through, Triss and Geralt, then the portal closes.

     "Triss, Geralt, up here please, take a look out there and give me your opinion."

     As they all look around at the enemies' forces and where they are deployed, Geralt says, "something about how they are laid out is strange, they are holding something back, out of sight, waiting on the dragons, maybe?"

     "Good guess, I was thinking the same, but what could they be hiding?"

     "I think we may be about to find out, look up there!" 

     Triss points to the skies above as portals begin opening, and the first arriving is Alduin, with a massive figure riding him.

     "Is that..." As the figure waves to all down below, Geralt recognizes him immediately, "Letho, he must have brought the Dragonriders he has been training. Yes, look on the other Dragons, they all have riders!"

     

     Hovering above, the enemy looked like tiny ants on the ground. "All you have to do is let yourself fall straight down, with 'Altima' drawn, the force wave will likely not rebound back so start hacking as soon as you land. We will be strafing around your position to keep them weeded out, if it is crawling on the ground, kill it. No mercy, no quarter, they would not give any to us unless directly ordered to, and that would be because they had a worse fate in mind."

     "I understand." Smiling, "I have not had so much fun for longer than I can remember, at least since you were riding Kthanid while he fought Cthulhu!"

     "So you did know I was there!"

     "Kind of hard not to see the effect you were having on him. Not that he would not have done what he did to save your people, it just would have taken him a little longer to make up his mind about it. And those surprise combat moves that took Cthulhu for a spin. The most enjoyment I have had seeing him brought down in millennia."

     "Come on, you old goat, jump with me!"

     "Hey, don't compare me to 'Shub', he is the 'Goat with a Thousand Young', not me!"

     "Says you, I have heard different!"

     "Who have you...damn!" As he jumps after Iriisii.

     The wind whistles around them both as they drop down toward the ground. Iriisii positions her arms and legs to allow her to guide her movements and maintain a strong horizontal position for when she morphs. Nodens however does not need that and maintains a more vertical position to build more energy for the conversion when he reaches ground level. Iriisii's dragon maintains a circling descent around them to be at the same level as Iriisii when she morphs and is also interested in seeing the characteristics of her morphed form.

     Then they reach the point where Iriisii begins morphing, it is a very quick process now, and she uses her broad wings to grab air, stopping her descent and smoothing into a glide. The first thing her dragon notices is how huge she is, with wings broad and strong enough to almost completely stop her descent and transfer her movement into a glide. Her coloring is also a deep blue, not chasing black, but rather going for a bright blue bordering on glowing. Altogether a beautiful combination, worthy of her status as 'Mother of Dragons'.

     Almost she finds herself wishing to be male, so as to initiate a mating flight with her. Thinking of what it would feel like to mate with her dragon form in freefall. Iriisii looks over at her and mind speaks, 'it is possible for me to morph into a male if you would be so interested.'

     'Let me consider that a while and I will let you know.'

     'As you wish, let me know anytime.'

     They watch as Nodens hits the ground near the center of the camp. The force wave rolls out from him, and enemy soldiers are sent flying into the air, tossed back thirty, forty feet before hitting the hard ground, many in heavy armor landing on their fellow soldiers causing broken bones, impalements on debris, cookfires spreading as tents are pushed into them, cooking oil spilled and igniting into flash fires.

     These and more occur all over the area occupied by the army, and then Nodens begins laying about himself using Altima, and the killing begins. Iriisii and her dragon begin laying a strafing pattern of fire breath all around Nodens. Working their way to the outside. The tent where the forced conversions were taking place is now a flaming trap, cooking those trapped inside. The leeches trying to escape, their skin popping in the intense heat exposing their internal bodies to the raging Dragonfire.

     Their attack causes the troops lying in hiding around the other sides of the city to begin attacking and the horns blow their call to battle to defend the besieged city. Atticus begins shouting orders to the defenders, readying the crossbow troops to wait until the attackers are well within range then to lay down a withering barrage of bolts. Even he is amazed at the number of bolts being fired and the damage being levied against the attackers. The same is occurring on the other walls, as Rigmor, Reaper, and Elric follow the defense plan laid out for them.

     It is then as the foot soldiers are wiped out that the backup contingent is brought forward. Trees are pushed to the ground as massive Oliphants lumber toward the walls, howdahs on their backs filled with armored warriors readying themselves to jump to the walls when they approach close enough. Calls are shouted for archers to target the drivers behind the heads of the Oliphants.

     One by one, around the walls, the drivers are targeted and riddled with arrows. Then the mages start tossing fireballs and lightning balls at the massive pachyderms. Those hit with no driver to countermand their instincts veer to one side or another, trampling soldiers underneath their feet, colliding with other Oliphants, knocking them off course, and sometimes causing their howdahs to slip to the side, the armored soldiers within falling to the ground to be trampled.

     The ground quickly becomes a bloody, muddy, swamp.

 

     The pressure on the gates is relieved by the Psijic mages applying deep cold elemental spells to the gates countering the heat of the Balrogs. Alduin and his dragons begin strafing the outside of the walls with 'Cold Breath' and 'Ice Form' attacks. Not giving the Balrogs a chance to mount a coordinated fire attack against the gates.

     The Sirens conduct an arrow campaign against the Oliphant Drivers, effectively leaving them aimlessly wandering. The mages begin using fireballs and lightning to direct them against the Balrogs. As the first Balrog is trampled, the 'hotfoot' the Oliphant suffers causes it to rear up, the howdah on its back emptied of soldiers falling to the ground, then crushed as the Oliphant falls on top of them.

      The cheer erupting from the city guards along the walls is infectious as they witness the devastating effect against the enemy at the gates. Then the giants come forward, the mages switch to acid shielding spells, and the Dragonriders respond to the change by casting warding spells to protect the dragons as they drop rock boulders onto the giants. Some of the dragons are hit by the corruption bolts and retreat to be healed. But the giants' numbers dwindle until the last one disappears beneath an onslaught of rock.

      That is when the true menace makes its face known. Something truly horrifying to both Dragon, God, and mortal alike. It screams its rage, anger, and pain. The sound pierces through everything thrown up to block or redirect it. Eyes watch as it rears from the distance and the ground shakes from its footsteps. They can already see it is taller than the walls, and no one knows if any spells or weapons they have will be of any use against it.

     The city is cheering the efforts of its defenders having turned its attackers. Then they hear the roar of something terrible toward the capital. Iriisii calls for a skeleton force to stay with the city while all others prepare to the ported to defend the capital. She gathers her own on her back and instructs Nodens to begin porting Atticus' Legion to the capital. She, her dragon, and her mates rise into the air and race toward the capital to see what new monstrosity has been created.

     They arrive to see what looks like a wingless dragon, taller than the city walls, reaching its clawed hands to grab parts of the wall and rip it asunder. Iriisii lets rip with a challenging roar that gets its attention. As she lands she sees this thing is easy twice her size, and she makes a decision on how to proceed.

     "Rigmor, Dettlaff, merge with me as you did before!"

     They drop to the ground, each moves to one foot and touches to begin the merge. Once they are combined, Iriiisii controls the morph and changes them once more into that incredibly ancient beast that they had once before become. The thing they faced, saw the threat they now posed and responds by charging. 

     Iriisii shouted a variation on 'Storm Call', a veritable lightning storm of bolts struck the wingless dragon charging at them. Each one staggering it, causing visible damage to its body. She shouted again, and fiery meteors dropped out of the sky targeting it. Slamming into its body one after another. Finally, it had enough, and it drops to the ground. She walks up to it, the ground shaking with each step she takes. She reaches its head, and as it tries to raise it one last time to snap at her, she slams her own clawed hand into its skull, scrambling its brain. Then she moves to its chest and slams her hand through its ribs, grasps its heart, and rips it out. She raises it up, displaying it to the skies as she shouts 'Yol Toor Shul' and burns it to ash in her claws.

     Alduin and his dragons all landed before her, placing their heads on the ground, acknowledging her victory and her place above them. She, Rigmor, and Dettlaff separate and walk back toward where Lilith and the others wait for her. She sees Yennefer and wonders how she came to be here. As she approaches, all bow to her and she motions for them to resume what they were doing. 

     Yennefer comes up and embraces her, "the Mother sent a soul hound and asked me to come" and whispers, "I have private news, bad news to relate when you have time."

     Iriisii whispers back, "follow me, we will go somewhere private and you can tell me what is wrong." She finds Nodens, "can you take care of what needs doing, I need to speak to some of my advisors about the news."

     Nodens nods his head and Iriisii goes into the city to the palace. Once there she sees the Prince come out to greet her. 

     "This needs to wait, I have news from home that needs attending to in private."

     "Of course, please follow me."

     He leads them to a seldom-used wing of the palace, to a comfortable yet clean room. He leaves them and once at the wing entrance sets two guards to stop anyone from interrupting, then returns to his father.

     "Sit and tell me what is wrong."

     Yennefer sits quietly, gathers her strength, and says, "Quintus has been murdered."

     Iriisii is immediately on her feet and kneels in front of Yennefer, holding her hands.

     "I am so sorry, can you tell me what you know of it?"

     "I found this clutched in his hands", and gives Iriisii a letter, addressed to herself.