OathBlade (Wattys2015)

67. Stasis*

Elery sat among the collected leaders in the the dimly-lit barn. She hadn't expected so many, and while the farmhouse would have had better lighting by which to view the delk-skin map, there quickly proved to be too little room for them all to fit in a single room. More than one hundred had come, forcing them to instead meet in a straw-strewn barn among sleeping delk and zanth hens. The animals' low cooing was strangely calming, even with the tense situation looming overhead.

Several dragons, uncomfortable in their borrowed seryn form, sat with the group. They stayed together, as did the lycar, showing a clear division between the three races. Though none made any indication of hostility toward the others, they still were not comfortable enough with each other to intermingle.

Even so, Elery thought as she listened to each give a report on their troops' numbers and status. Gathering them all together like this in one room without a small war breaking out is a feat in and of itself.

Their troops numbered no less than three-hundred each, with some boasting numbers as high as a thousand. The more of these she heard, the more anxious she became. A successful general could handle a great many under their command, but numbers that high required much experience. She began to wonder, as they boasted and laughed over those with paltry numbers, if they were simply competing with each other.

It would hardly have been a surprise. Even she, at one point, prided herself on the three-hundred and fifty soldiers under her command. Hers was the third largest brigade, and each man and woman was one she'd earned in her short time as general.

But many of those among her were not generals. They were lower military with no experience commanding anything larger than a small squad, if even that. To leave one-thousand plus lives in their hands would have been irresponsible, and as one boasted of the twelve-hundred stragglers she rounded up, Elery finally stood and put a stop to their reports. "Think you that commanding an army is a simple task? It isn't. You are responsible for every one of those lives which you boast over. They are not trinkets, they are not pawns, they are living beings who must trust you to make the best decision you can. Can you decide the actions of all those under your command? Or is this merely your own attempt to feel important?"

She began to pace at the center of their large, oblong circle, looking at each as she passed. "I speak not to those of you who command your own armies of soldiers you've known and fought with in the past, but to those of you elected to be leaders. To be proud of those numbers is one matter, but I can see those of you who've not earned your crests. You've collected soldiers believing more is best, when in truth you will be unable to manage your ranks and will, ultimately, lead them to slaughter."

Those to whom she spoke lowered their gaze. All laughter silenced.

"We haven't the time for you to learn to be proper generals capable of commanding so many. If you value the lives of those you wished to command you will reassign them with other, more experienced leaders." She stopped and turned to the wall bearing the map. "I wish to speak to a Bethgardel soldier."

After a moment's hesitation a woman stood up. "Aye M'lady?"

"Come here." Elery waved to beckon her closer. "Worry not, I've no qualm with you. I merely wish to have you explain your homeland territory. I know only what I've read from books and see on this map, but a first-hand account of what we are to expect would do wonders."

The woman relaxed and stepped forward to approach the map. Her knotted brown hair hung over her face, obscuring most of her features though letting show patches of tan skin. She extended her hand and pointed, then circled an area. "This is the breadth of my homeland, spanning this mountain range. There is only one entry point: Delphicore Steep. It is a pathway which leads high into the mountains. A trek difficult to make on foot. Though many buildings are built onto the surface of the mountains, some are carved deep into her body."