“Yes, sir,” the soldier replied.
As the soldier came out, another ran in, bringing in reports of the direction the battle was going. General Senay had soldiers like this, scouts, who would study the battle and get back to him. The constant update informed his decision on what strategy to use, and what reinforcements to make.
“Report,” he ordered the soldier.
The soldier opened his mouth, and that was all he ever did. A bolt of bright light shot out from out of nowhere and speared through him. The soldier was dead even before he fell to the ground. Smoke was coming out from the hole on his back. Senay stared nonplussed.
“What just happened?” he asked one of his colonels at the planning table.
They were still about to respond when another one hit the tent. And then another and another.
“The sky!” Senay heard someone shout from outside. And when he went outside, he saw bolts of light falling from the sky in a storm.
There was an army of flying men up there! In the sky, shooting bolts of light into the army of the Middle.
Senay saw that all of them had a contraption fixed like a backpack, except this one spat fire from its underside. As if that was not enough, it was as if the forest suddenly came alive. More men were pouring in than he had seen. And then it hit him. They were being hit from more than one angle. He felt his spirits drop. There was no doubt that the Middle Kingdom had better soldiers but Tonar had the better strategies.
In truth, Senay did not care about the magician-warriors, only his soldiers. Already the lists of the dead were growing by the second. It would be up to him to visit all of the grieving families and tell them that their kin had died in service to the kingdom and to the King, who had sent them into battle based solely on an assumption.
It would be General Senay who would hear the soul-shattering cries, the piercing wails, and would be the one to try and console them. Tonar had had the advantage of them since the start.
Tonar’s newly acquired technology from the Technocons was wreaking untold havoc. The Middle Kingdom had been fighting for survival since then, and as such had focused the brunt of their attention to the front, where the heat was coming from. They could not see that Tonar had already had something even more audacious planned. Now, they were facing soldiers from all sides, and most jarring of it all, soldiers from the sky, raining arrows of white light!
“Where are those damned magicians when you need them?” Senay asked.
He saw more and more of his soldiers fall from the arrows from the sky, as they were too busy withstanding the attack from the front and the sides. They could not put up a shield as it would be too weak. The men he had here were known more for their physical strength than their magic. Senay saw all this, and he knew what he had to do. The battle here was over. Without the magicians, this would easily turn into a slaughter. He did not know where the magicians were, and he could not wait for them to come to save them. If he did, there would be nobody to save by the time they arrived. He moved into his tent, which surprisingly, was still standing amidst the hail of projectiles. He grabbed the special horn made for the retreat signal. It had been long since this horn had been sounded in battle. Indeed. the glory of the Middle Kingdom had been decimated today. He moved out of the tent, and put the horn to his lips, blew with all his might. The horn was infused with magic that allowed its sounds to travel far and wide so everyone could hear it.
“Retreat! Retreat!” the soldiers shouted among themselves as they ran back into the forest.
Mosael heard the horn, and a smile split his face – the first since the battle began. Tonar had successfully set the Middle Kingdom to their heels. But he did not plan on stopping there.
Sinto heard the sound of the horns. It was time to leave. Even for someone as strong as him, this display of force from Tonar was not what Sinto had expected at all. Using magic fire as they ran back into the forest, he felt the defeat in his bones. He knew the King would be furious at this terrible humiliation. And he also knew that he would be blamed for this.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Life of a Telepath
“There are certain things you have to keep in mind if you are to master the skill of telepathy. A focused mind, will, and consideration.”
Eldana and Kochob were under the shade of a huge beech. Eldana sat on the ground, with her legs folded while Kochob leaned on the tree in front of her. Today was one week since Eldana had consigned herself to Kochob’s tutelage, yet she was no closer to reading a mind than she was when she started.
“Why should you have a focused mind?” Kochob asked.
“Because, like a dagger, my mind must be sharp and precise to be able to penetrate the walls of someone else’s thoughts,” she replied.
After the third day with Kochob had yielded nothing, Eldana was beset by frustration. Fraweyni had requested her presence in her grove to enquire of her progress, and Eldana had told her that she did not think she was cut out for telepathy.
“Eldana,” Fraweyni said with calm, “A being of Balance
