Fear Among The Shadows

Chapter XI - The Art of War

Well, my dear reader, the time has come. We must venture with our beloved Adilah straight towards death and destruction. Towards the home of humans' greatest vices. Towards grand heaps of misery and carnage.

It was time to go to war.

The carriage jumped and wobbled along the uneven road, causing its inhabitants to jostle into one another. The horses didn't seem to care whether they rode over a hole in the ground that the carriage couldn't jump over or whether it tilted precariously to one side as they took a sharp corner.

Adilah was grateful for all the moving around though, as it provided ample distraction from what was laying ahead. She did not want to think about the strange Mistress that seemed to put everyone, even Letitia, on edge. She did not want to think about how she was heading towards a war zone where she will probably witness her first bloodshed, her first corpse, her first kill. She did not want to think about the people sharing her carriage getting struck down by the enemy, dying, their lights fading. She did not want to think about her light fading. Focusing on her arse which was probably bruised and Letitia's elbow digging into her stomach put those unwanted thoughts at bay.

She could see Eddie clutching his Star pendant and muttering under his breath. Praying to the Brave One for courage, she guessed, though she didn't think he needed it. She definitely needed it. Adilah put her hand on her own Star, the one given to her by her sister right before she left, under her tunic, closed her eyes and pictured the burning sun in the sky looking down at her and infusing her with bravery. Come on, I'm sure you have enough of it up there; I just need a little bit for today. The warrior goddess wasn't known for her generosity though, so Adilah wasn't surprised when her fear and anxiety remained. The Brave One would only give her strength to those who deserved it. Adilah didn't think she had that privilege.

As they crested a hill, Eric looked out the window and muttered in exaggerated cheer, "We're here!"

Adilah looked out the window and saw that they were approaching a tent surrounded by soldiers resting, or drilling. Their carriage pulled to a stop, and she stepped down, slowly taking in everything around her. She couldn't see where the battle was, but she could hear the sounds of fighting somewhere on the other side of the hill. The land around her didn't look any different than Akhshe, the only difference was the river behind them that they'd crossed to get into Lil.

The soldiers that travelled with them were unloading the carriage, taking out all the weapons they'd stocked it with. Adilah and the others wouldn't need any of them, but Jonathan used this opportunity to send as much supplies as possible to the front. While they did that, and Eddie went into the tent to speak with the commander, Adilah found herself mesmerized by the soldiers doing their drills. For the first time, she was seeing magic in action. Some were throwing balls of fire at targets, others lightning bolts. She saw someone pull a giant rock from the ground and shoot out smaller rocks from it. There was a woman throw what looked like an amulet into the air, which then exploded into thousands of shards of glass that flew towards the targets, impaling each and every one.

There were soldiers training with regular weapons as well, swords, daggers, bows, but Adilah couldn't tear her eyes away from the ferocity of the magic, or the ease with which the soldiers used it. Finally, only when Letitia gestured for her to follow, did she pull her gaze away.

She followed Letitia around the commander's tent, and into one of the makeshift barracks. Letitia handed her a uniform like the ones the soldiers outside had worn, but torn and bloodied. It was light gray trousers and tunic, with a leather vest. Adilah knew that there weren't enough resources to have chainmail, and that the little metal was used for weapons, but she definitely would have felt better if she was wearing something a bit more difficult to penetrate with a blade. Her own weapon, a meager dagger, was hidden under her tunic.