Fayonne and the Mettai watched them pass back overhead, and then the eldest turned to face Jenoe, as if to say, Now it's your turn.
Tirnya's father looked back at the captains. "Are we ready?" he asked.
"Qalsyn's archers are in place," Enly said. "So are Fairlea's. The men of Waterstone were a bit farther off. And the swordsmen aren't in formation yet."
Jenoe frowned, clearly displeased. "Well, we'll make do with what we have. Have the swordsmen mustered forward as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Marshal."
"Archers, advance!" Jenoe called to the men behind him, gesturing with a raised arm and at the same time spurring his mount to a canter.
A great shout rose from the men, and the bowmen of Qalsyn and Fairlea started toward the sept, their bows ready. Tirnya and the other captains followed the marshal on horseback. When they reached the Mettai, Fayonne and her people began to jog alongside the riders.
Somehow Enly had positioned himself beside Tirnya, though he said nothing to her. For her part, Tirnya barely allowed herself a glance in his direction. Instead, she divided her attention between the great eagles soaring toward the sept and the settlement itself. She still saw no sign that the Fal'Borna were making ready for battle; she saw no white-hairs at all.
"Something's not right," Enly said. "Where are they?"
"Could they have fled?" she asked. "They would have gotten word that we were coming. They may have abandoned the sept or joined forces with another settlement."
Enly shook his head. "There are still horses in the paddock. They're here. They're just waiting for something."
"You should stop here, Marshal," Fayonne called to Jenoe. "Language of beasts. They'll be able to reach you soon."
A moment later, Jenoe reined his horse to a stop and dismounted, though this, too, seemed to darken his mood. Hendrid, the captains, and the lead riders also halted and swung themselves off their mounts. They wasted little time in resuming their advance on foot.
By now the eagles were over the sept and were circling like great buzzards, each turn bringing them lower.
"Are you close enough for a finding spell?" Jenoe asked.
"Not quite," Fayonne said.
Tirnya's father nodded curtly. "They're too close," he said a moment later. "I wanted our archers to be in position before the eagles reached the sept. Now they'll-"
Before he could finish the thought, a harsh, piercing screech split the air, followed by another and another. Several of the lowest eagles suddenly began to thrash violently, their wings bent at odd angles, their talons clenched in tight balls. They struggled for an instant or two and then plunged to the ground. As soon as they landed, men swarmed around them, spears in their hands, their white hair gleaming in the sun.
"Damn!" Fayonne said. "They're using shaping magic."
"Can you send more eagles?" Jenoe asked.
The eldest looked at him and blinked once. "More?" she said, sounding simple.
"Yes! You conjured these eagles. Conjure another flock and send them-"
He broke off as more of the eagles screamed. All of them looked up into the sky in time to see several of the giant birds fall to the earth, their wings broken.
Jenoe faced the eldest again, appearing more desperate by the moment. "Send more of the birds to attack the sept. Perhaps that will allow us to get close enough for your spells and our archers to have some effect."
Fayonne abruptly seemed unsure of herself, as if Jenoe's request was the last thing she had expected.
"You can do that, can't you?"
"I- I think so," she said. "I've never heard of it being done, but I can't see any reason why it can't."
Jenoe nodded once. "Good. Then do it. Now, quickly!"
The eldest still seemed hesitant. She turned to the other Mettai and held up her knife for them to see.
"More eagles," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
The other Mettai didn't appear to be fazed by this at all. Except for the eldest's son, whose face went white. He said nothing, though, and a moment later all of the Mettai had soil in their hands, blood on their blades, and the softly spoken words of the spell on their lips.
Still more eagles screamed out in pain and tumbled to the ground. "Hurry, Eldest," Jenoe said. "There'll be none left before long."
The muttering of the spell seemed to go on for a long time, but at last the Mettai hurled their fistfuls of mud at the sky, and several dozen more
eagles began to rise into the air and soar toward the settlement. "Forward!" Jenoe shouted to the army.
Again the warriors started off at a run toward the Fal'Borna settlement. The white-hairs' assault on the eagles continued. The second group of birds glided toward the few remaining eagles first conjured by the Mettai.
When at last the soldiers of Stelpana were close enough to the sept, Jenoe called for a halt, his breath coming in great gasps and his face shining with sweat.
Tirnya was winded as well, but she felt fresher than her father looked. "Are you all right, Father?" she asked.
"Yes, of course," Jenoe said impatiently. "Archers!" he called.
It almost seemed that the Fal'Borna had been waiting for Jenoe's signal, so suddenly did the wind rise from the west.
Jenoe scowled. "Damn them!" He turned to Fayonne. "Find me their Weavers, Eldest."
"Yes, Marshal."
Once more, the Mettai began to conjure, and this time when they threw their mud in the direction of the sept, it turned into that silvery dust Tirnya remembered from their last encounter with the Fal'Borna. The white-hairs' wind didn't seem to slow the conjuring. It flew straight at the sept before settling over the shelters and garden plots like a fine mist. Almost instantly the entire settlement appeared to glow, as if the white moon had fallen to the ground with the latest group of slain eagles. Tirnya could see at least three faint glimmerings of yellow in the sea of white light.
"You see them?" Jenoe called to no one in particular. "Those are the Weavers! Concentrate your volleys on them! Fire!"
A thousand bows thrummed; a swarm of arrows rose into the air, only to be knocked back by the white-hairs' wind so that most of them fell far short of the village.
The second group of eagles was over the settlement now, but rather than diving toward the Fal'Borna or their horses, they swooped at the other eagles and began to attack them.
"No!" Fayonne whispered.
"Eldest!" Jenoe called to the woman. "What are they doing?"
"I don't know, Marshal. I wasn't really sure what they'd do, but I didn't expect this."
The rasping screams of the birds seemed to drown out all other sound. The second group of eagles now vastly outnumbered the first, and they attacked in packs of three and four, tearing at their victims with those enormous beaks and cruel talons. Several more of the birds dropped to the ground, dead or dying.
Tirnya could see the Fal'Borna pointing up at the eagles. A moment later, the white-hairs appeared to decide that they could turn their full attention to the approaching army. She could hear voices shouting, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.
` Try putting them to sleep," Jenoe said. "That seems our best chance at this point."