Right about now, Tarrin regretted not having Keritanima tell him what was going on. He scanned the area of the city, seeing lots of Wikuni and Sulasians and Arakites, but little else. All of the katzh-dashi were hiding, which was only smart seeing as how they would be targeted for elimination, but where were the Were-kin? Tarrin looked carefully at the lines on the walls, and recognized Audrey, the sharp-tongued Were-wolf. She was wearing a Wikuni uniform, and was in her human form. Clever! Hiding the Were-kin among the Wikuni, who resembled them too closely to tell them apart when Were-kin were in their hybrid form. He watched Audrey shift into her hybrid form, a bipedal body with fur and a wolf's head, and then she was totally indistinguishable from any other wolf Wikuni. He didn't know the battle plan, so he wasn't sure if everything was ready. About all he remembered was that they were going to open with Shiika, because they knew that the first thing the other side would do would be to send in their Demons. Shiika had arranged to eliminate that threat.
"When's it going to start?" Jula asked, with a quivering voice.
"I don't know, daughter," he grunted in reply. "I wasn't sitting in the planning sessions. I don't have much idea what's going to happen."
"I should be out there."
"I need you here," he told her. "If they get this far, then it's up to us to stop them. You, me, and Jasana."
"I know, but it feels… cowardly, hiding here in the courtyard. I know about them, I should be out there helping."
"You're not a part of them anymore," he reminded her. "You're one of us now."
"I know, but after what Kravon did to me-" she cut herself short, closing her eyes. That was still a very raw wound for her. "I just wish I had him right here. I'd show him how it feels to be a lab rat!"
"You may get your chance," Tarrin said absently, seeing that the ki'zadun had finished forming up their lines. Now, they were just waiting for the sun to rise, so it would put the light of the sun in the faces of their enemies. Tarrin watched, and he considered what one of them would have to go through to get to him. The katzh-dashi at the walls, and the combined forces of some four kingdoms, complete with a large number of cannons. Then they'd have to get past the Centaurs and Selani charged to defend the streets against anything that got past the walls, as well as the other soldiers stationed in the city proper. And if they got to the Tower fence, they'd find themselves facing the rest of the Sorcerers, the venerated Knights of Karas and the fearsome Vendari dug in behind impressive fortifications. If that weren't enough, the priests of Karas were also stationed on the Tower grounds, to provide even more magical assistance, and Phandebrass and the handful of Wizards that lived in Suld were also picketed within the monstrous defenses surrounding the Tower. Priest magic could affect Demons, as it was the power of a god, just as Wizards could affect Demons because their magic originated from outside the world, so they were set in the one place the Demons were guranteed to come. Phandebrass may act like a scatterbrained old fool, but Tarrin knew fully well how educated the man was, as well as how experienced and skilled he was in his chosen magical profession. If the other Wizards were as good as him, then they could probably turn back any Demon that managed to reach the Tower.
All that protection, yet in the face of the countless numbers arrayed against them, Tarrin did not at all feel as confident as he did a few days ago.
The sun finally managed to peek over the eastern horizon. Tarrin knew that they'd wait just long enough for the sun's light to cause a problem for their advesaries, and then they'd attack. He explained that to Jula, who growled in her throat. "The cowards," she snapped.
Something was happening. Tarrin saw it on the corner of the image, and mentally moved it. He adjusted it to include sound, and the sound that greeted them was a massive, hideous tearing of the earth. Tarrin watched in mute fascination as a great thing clambered out of the soil of the earth, leaving a massive crater behind, and that fascination turned to utter awe as the thing stood up. It was absolutely immense! He could actually see the very top of its head in the distance, towering over the buildings and the city wall. It had to be a hundred spans tall! What power had summoned up something so huge?
When it turned to face the inhuman armies sieging Suld, Tarrin realized what it was. It was an Earth Elemental, and its size meant that it was a druidic Elemental. That was Triana's work!
Goddess! All this time, Triana had had that kind of power, to summon forth something so absolutely massive that it defied rational explantion? And he'd never known!
"What is that?" Jula gasped, making Miranda leave Jasana's side and come over to look.
"It's an Earth Elemental, a Druidic one," Tarrin replied. "Triana summoned that thing up. It should take a big bite out of Kravon's army."
"Then we're right on schedule," Miranda mused.
"You know the plan, don't you, Miranda?" Tarrin asked.
"Of course I do," she said with a cheeky grin. "It's easy to miss me, you know. I don't think they even realized I was there. And if they did, they certainly didn't think I was paying attention."
"I've been standing here mulling all that over, and all I had to do was ask you," he said in disgust.
"I can't help it if you forget things like that," she teased.
"It's been a while since I've seen you, Miranda," he said defensively. "Given your attributes, it's easy to forget how smart you are."
Miranda gave him a beaming smile. "It's not often a girl gets complimented on her mind and her cleavage in the same breath. I feel honored."
"Save it and tell us what's going on," Jula said impatiently.
"Well, we all know that this is a battle of magic," she told them, pointing to the image in his magical disc. "Triana's sending that thing out first, because only the Demons can do anything about it, since its sheer size makes most magic useless against it. That keeps them pinned with the army. As soon as it starts stomping on the enemy, Shiika is supposed to summon the Demons that hate the Demons on their side, and hope that they'll get in the first shot while the Demons are trying to slow down Triana's little surprise." She tossed her hair back over her shoulder. "With any luck, they'll keep the Demons too busy to break down the walls, and that'll force the ki'zadun to attempt an assault to compromise the wall."
They watched through the magical viewing disc as the Elemental lumbered across the empty no-man's land between the walls and the amassed army, but the Demons did not move to attack the great hulking monstrosity. They all suddenly rushed forward in a single wave, a terrifying howling mass of anticipation, going right by the Elemental.
"Oh dear, Darvon was afraid that might happen," Miranda said soberly. "It's a good thing he planned for this possibility. Shiika should be conjuring up the Demons working on our side about now." She chuckled humorlessly. "I never thought I'd say that."
"It's like the Blood War all over again," Jula said nervously. "Demons fighting on native soil, but this time, they're going to be fighting one another."
In a great shower of sparks and smoke, Demons began to appear outside the city walls of Suld. They were of the same basic types as the Demons charging towards them, and there were very nearly as many facing them as there were charging forward. Tarrin immediately had a very bad feeling about this. He trusted Shiika, at least after a fashion, but he wasn't sure about this. For a long moment, it hung there as to what the summoned Demons were going to do, until they too surged forward in hideous cries of hatred, seeking out that particular Demon they had been summoned to destroy.