Wartorn Obliteration

It's interesting you refer to me as Lord, since you demanded to be addressed as General when you had full use of my identity.

Do you fancy yourself a general? Do you really intend to lead the Felk army on your own?

I'm not on my own.

You still expect me to help you? Dardas was shocked.

That was what you were resurrected for. To instruct and assist me in the techniques of warfare.

It was almost beyond belief. Could this fop be so deluded? Those had been the terms that Weisel had originally agreed to when Matokin arranged for Dardas's resurrection. But it seemed evident that Matokin had expected all along that Dardas would swiftly assume control of the host body, which was what had happened.

Then again, Weisel was the one holding sway now. Maybe he was in fact in a position to dictate terms.

'The portal is ready, General Weisel,' the Far Movement mage said.

'Very good.'

Weisel stepped into the breach that opened before him.

See? That wizard isn't too proud to call me General.

You may have a point.

Dardas sensed surprise. It wasn't as easy to detect emotions as it was to hear deliberately directed thoughts.

I'm glad to hear you finally talking some sense.

I have always been a man who could adjust to new situations.

From what I know of history, that's always meant trouble for your enemies.

They were past the portal now. Weisel obeyed the instructions and put one foot in front of the other, aiming for the exit portal, which was just visible in the misty distance.

Tell me something.

Yes? Weisel asked.

If you are so eager for my advice and expertise, why did you thwart my strategy of opening those portals around the city of Trael?

Quite suddenly, Weisel stopped walking. He stood still, deliberately, hands on hips.

What are you doing? Dardas asked.

But Weisel was silent, directing no thoughts Dardas's way. This wasn't a Weisel that Dardas was familiar with. This was some different version, someone other than the weak-willed Felk lord that Dardas had once so easily overpowered. This Weisel seemed confident and decisive.

Maybe Weisel had been taking lessons from him, Dardas thought wryly. Then he considered the thought more seriously. It had some plausibility. It might be that Weisel, during that time when Dardas thought him completely suppressed, had instead been learning how Dardas conducted himself. Dardas was an assured, resolute leader. It was what Weisel aspired to be.

Why have you stopped? Dardas felt a twinge of unease now, on top of the general anxiety of traveling by way of this portal. He had been honest earlier when he'd said this type of travel unsettled him.

Wait. Listen. Watch. Weisel's thoughts were composed.

Dardas could only borrow Weisel's senses now, not direct them in any way. Through the Felk lord's eyes, he scanned the surrounding fog as it eddied and flowed according to no perceivable pattern.

With Weisel's ears, he listened. Suddenly, he heard something, or thought he did. It was as vague and ill- defined as everything else about this terrible place. As Dardas tried to sort the sound he became aware of a growing feeling of being watched. He tried to dismiss it as childish, but it wouldn't go away. In fact, it got worse. At the same time, the sound was getting louder... or getting nearer.

Actually, sounds was more like it. Dardas was nearly able to pick apart the individual parts of it. It was almost like they were voices!

It was an awful thought, one that chilled Dardas's disembodied being.

Let's get going, he urged.

Are you in such a hurry? Weisel asked archly.

Let's get to the exit, Weisel!

Amid the roiling mist, Dardas thought he perceived shapes now, just the vaguest silhouettes. The voices were definitely louder.

Whatever point you mean to prove, this isn't the way to do it.

Oh, I think it's a very effective means.

Enough. Please. We have to get moving.

Weisel at last relented, and moved with hurtling steps toward the far portal. Dardas felt certain that whatever was gathering in the fog would seize this body before Weisel could get to the exit. He was happy to find himself mistaken when they charged through the second breach, into a large tent where two mages waited.

The magicians were startled to find the general bursting through so suddenly.

'Are you all right, sir?' one wizard asked.

'Was there any difficulty in the transit, General?' asked the other.

Weisel drew a calming breath, smiled, and said, 'Nothing to speak of. You both did your jobs just fine. Dismissed.' He waved.

They exited the tent.

What was the meaning of that? Dardas demanded.

Meaning of what? Weisel mentally retorted.

That misguided display back there. People who put themselves deliberately and uselessly in jeopardy aren't heroes, you know.

Were you frightened? Because I was. What do you imagine those things were, moving so eerily in that white mist?

I don't know, Dardas admitted.

Neither do I. That's the point. They might be illusions. They might be creatures. They might be gods know what, considering how strange that place is. They might even be the restless spirits of the dead.

That gave Dardas pause. He had extracted information about the nature of portal magic from one of the mages in this very army. He had been compelled to do so because of Matokin's orders regarding secrecy about all things magical. The Felk leader meant to keep Dardas ignorant about such matters, probably so the general wouldn't become too powerful.

What Dardas had learned was extraordinary. It seemed that all magic in this world was derived from another world, the same alien plane of existence that the portals employed. This, Dardas was told by the Far Movement mage he'd questioned, was called the Wellspring. It was a sort of antireality, a metaphysical opposite. Where this world was life, that place was death.

Dardas had had to conduct his questioning at knifepoint. Afterward, he'd also had to kill the mage. Such necessities didn't bother him.

But he hadn't known that Weisel was aware of the episode. At the time, the nobleman's consciousness had seemingly disappeared altogether.

Yes, Dardas finally said. It might be that the dead would have emerged and overrun the city of Trael.

What powers would they have possessed, do you suppose, once they were loose in this world? And what would they have done when they'd finished with Trael? No, General Dardas, it was too risky. In fact, it was insanely so.

Dardas didn't mind the barb. He was actually somewhat moved that Weisel was addressing him by his rank.

It was a calculated risk. We take those in wars.

Weisel said, I don't see that it was calculated. Too many unknown factors. The potential for