keeping an army fed. they would be too far away to help, but initial intelligence said that the Cona forces were comparable to their own.
Barnin moved his arms around, feeling the confinement of the armor. It would loosen up in a little while. The cavalry was considered to be a specialty unit, so they got better equipment than the other units. Even so, most of his men didn’t have plate armor and chainmail. Legon had fixed that problem. house Evindass made a donation to his unit, and now all twenty men and horses were fully armed. Barnin looked them over. They looked more confident now that they shone like mirrors and the horses looked better too. they would be an intimidating force.
“I am truly sorry, my old friend.” He heard Legon’s voice coming from the entrance. all of the faces in the room turned to see Legon and Sasha walking in.
“For what?” Barnin asked.
Legon walked up to him, inspecting his new armor. “Even with all of this, you can’t fix ugly, but I promise we are working on a way to fix your ailment.”
“Blow me,” Barnin said.
“But seriously, how is it working for you guys?” Legon asked.
“It’s great. Everything fits nicely and we’re a lot more protected. don’t worry, we’ll earn it,” Barnin said.
“We know you will,” Sasha said with a grim smile.
“Sash, you’re not sticking around, are you?” Barnin asked.
“Yes, of course I am. I have to-I’m a Venefica,” she responded.
Barnin turned curiously to Legon. “You’re going to let her go into combat? Are…”
“She’s not going into combat, but she will be there connected with me and helping me out. it’s common enough, and she will be safe,” Legon said.
Barnin didn’t want to push the subject. if Legon said that Sasha was safe then she was.
Legon was in armor as well, but his was extremely lightweight, like all Elven armor. With their speed and the use of fenna, heavy armor was impractical and ineffective, so they went for the light, fast-moving type. this armor was just for stray arrows, and as such it did almost nothing for the fenna. Barnin noticed a large shield-looking plate on Legon’s left shoulder. he nodded to it, not wanting to move and disturb the kid finishing up with his armor.
“It’s heavy armor. when we charge we lean into opponents with it to try and, well, we ram people with it,” Legon said.
“Ok, got ya. There’s Keither and Sara,” Barnin said.
Keither and Sara were walking to them in a hurry. they looked like they had something big to tell them.
“What’s going on?” Sasha asked.
Sara went first. “I’m a medic. I can do minor healing so I will be working with the medical staff at the battle, all behind the front lines of course.”
Then Keither broke in. “And I’ve been put on the strategy committee. well, I’m assisting the committee on this battle, but I made it on.”
Barnin broke in. “They put you on that? Wow, Keither, I’m impressed.”
The strategy committee was what commanded a battle. they used the Mahann and mental networking to figure out what the enemy was going to do and how to respond. It was a big deal and that meant that if Keither tried, for once in his life he could be in command of entire armies.
Keither was looking at Legon’s armor, confused. Barnin helped out.
“Elves don’t have a cavalry. they’re too fast on their own and most can outrun a horse that’s laden with armor. That plate on his shoulder is for ramming his opponents and Iumenta. an Elf and Iumenta running at full speed into each other create a lot of force.”
“Why did you ask what it was then?” Legon asked, confused.
“I didn’t. I nodded and you took it that way. I just wanted you to have that one time in your life when you felt like you knew something I didn’t, that’s all.” He gave him a toothy smile.
Legon shook his head at him and Barnin saw him place his hand on the handle of a large sword. there was a purple glow. He knew those swords. They were called fenrra, and he must be charging the blade. Legon was going to the front line. This was sobering; his best friend, the last of his childhood, was going to the front line.
“Are you a forward then?” Barnin asked.
“Yes, I’m a class five,” Legon responded.
“My unit will be with you then.”
“What? But you-”
“I get to choose what unit I back up, and it will be yours. you guys will take the Iumenta and we will take the human cavalry that’s with them.”
Sasha saw what Barnin was doing. he wasn’t going to have another friend die. She felt a twinge of sympathy for him. was he thinking that he was somehow to blame?
A tall man walked up behind Barnin. He looked to be in his early twenties and was about six foot seven. He was thin with sandy hair, pale blue eyes, and a friendly face.
He spoke. “My lord, you have given us this armor. We owe you. Also, if you are going to have a cavalry unit with you, it may as well be the best.”
Confident and respectful. Those were good traits. he knew where the line in the sand was.
Barnin smiled. “Meet Ankle. He’s my second.”
Sasha paused. “Ankle?”
“He’s never had a major injury in combat, and believe me, he puts himself out there enough. but get him back home and try and play a game and crack, he sprains his ankle every time.”
She wanted to ask more but she sensed Iselin’s mind requesting that they go back to the dome and to her hangar. They left at once, Keither and Sara in tow. it didn’t take long to get to the hanger where she saw Iselin waiting. Against the walls were piles of metal that looked like armor, but way too big to be any normal armor. there were five other Elves there as well.
“Good. I’m glad you are here. I thought you might like to see a dragon getting fitted for battle.”
“What could you guys get fitted with for battle?” Sara asked.
“Watch. That’s why you’re here,” Iselin said warmly.
Sasha felt Cat winding her way around her legs. she reached down and picked her up. Iselin walked to the center of the hangar and turned to them. Sasha’s heart stopped as she saw her. Iselin’s head jutted forward and up misshaping itself. her hands stretched to the ground and wings came from her back. She grew huge, and scales glittered along her body. The tail was there now snaking out behind her, and then in just a moment there stood a giant pink dragon in front of them. She looked down at them all and winked.
“Pretty neat, isn’t it?” she said into their minds. they chose to speak aloud.
“Very,” Legon said.
“Good. Now help out if you can.”
Iselin spread her wings, keeping them level with the ground. her tail was outstretched and her neck was level. At once the Elves started moving around the metal and Sasha realized that it really was armor. The Elves directed them to help and Iselin explained in their minds what everything was.
As they wrapped her neck and back with chainmail and plate armor, she informed them that it was mostly for show. The chainmail was nothing to dragons; only a few pieces actually did anything.
Sasha figured those out on her own. they were obviously different. they were made of the same material as the fenna, but they were thicker. There were pieces that went along her spine, at least four inches thick, and then long ones that ran along the leading edge of her wings. These were eight inches thick. All of her joints got the real armor too, and then a helmet. There was no bottom, leaving her jaw free to move, but there was a large piece that covered her head. On the nose were three blade-like spikes. they reminded Sasha of a drawing that Arkin had shown her once, something he had called a “rhino.”
Next they put long, curved extensions on her claws. Heavy plates also went on the bottom of her feet. they had to be a foot thick and they restricted her movement. Iselin told them that these were used to block blows from other dragons. They also lifted a set of large plates onto her chest. in the center of them was a dark blue dot. in that dot were a purple triangle and a green tree, the crest for house Evindass. Sasha felt a bloom of gratitude upon seeing how loyal Iselin was to their house.
The final piece was the most terrifying. on her tail they placed spikes and an elongated blade. the whole thing
