“General Yukio, can you hear me?” There was a familiar voice in his ear.
“Who are you?” asked the general into the muddied ground.
“You are not safe here; you have been injured. Let me take you back to North Gate so that you can have your wound looked at,” pleaded the all-too-familiar voice.
“Aiden, is that you?” asked Yukio dumbly.
“Yes, old friend, it is. You are safe now,” replied Master Aiden calmly.
“Where is my sword? How am I hurt?” asked the general stubbornly.
“You sword is on your right; your right shoulder and arm appear to be broken in several places.”
General Yukio mustered up as much strength as humanly possible and pushed himself upright with his left arm. He then stood up and bent down to pick up his sword with his left hand. He looked down at his damaged arm and muttered a healing spell that seemed to fix the broken bones, but there was muscle damage that did not heal. He winced from the torn muscle in his shoulder and motioned for Aiden to help him. The master swordsman came to his aid by fashioning a sling out of some cloth torn from a dead soldier’s raiment. Yukio nodded his thanks to his friend and then hefted the sword in his left hand.
“It has been years since I fought left handed. I hope I still remember how.”
He then yelled a Nairian battle cry and went charging back into the battle. Aiden was right behind him as they engaged the unsuspecting high elves, who had thought the general was dead or severely injured. They immediately ran into General Jaali, who was killing riders and horses without hesitation. The high elven general had never liked Yukio and could somehow sense his presence. He whirled about and engaged Yukio and Aiden with his sword. Sparks flew as blades clashed in spectacular displays of swordsmanship. Master Aiden was clearly far superior to the other two, but General Jaali was quickly joined by a handful of other swordsmen. Aiden took on the new comers and left the two generals to duke it out.
General Yukio was much better than he had remembered with his left hand and was able to hold his own. This gave him the opportunity to penetrate Jaali’s mind while he was focused on their duel. His mental defenses were weak, and Yukio was able to gain access to his mind with very little effort. Once inside his head, he took control of it. He commanded Jaali to chop his own head off. There was considerable resistance to this order, but with a fancy twirl of his sword, General Jaali sliced his own head clean off. The body of Jaali fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. General Yukio snatched the head before it hit the ground and howled in triumph. He let the blood drain onto his armor and then ignited the fallen general’s head into a blue ball of fire and threw it into the twelve soldiers that were fighting with Master Aiden. The master swordsman recognized what was going to happen and leapt to safety behind a pile of dead soldiers.
The blue ball of fire exploded violently and sent blue flames racing through the high elven army. This magical fire could not be put out by the rain like the red fire he had used earlier. The fire burned as long as Yukio had strength to sustain it, and, in this case, that was not too long. Within seconds, he collapsed from the physical exertion and the drain his magic had on his body. Aiden ran to him before he fell to the ground again. He threw the general over his shoulder and carried him back to the North Gate. The three armies pulled back to their respective camps for the night. They had fought all day through a torrential downpour, and both sides had suffered significant losses. The high elves had lost their famous general, and their queen was not faring too well either. The giants had very few losses, while the men of Nairi lost several thousand.
“What happened to him?” asked General Lang as he surveyed the battered General Yukio.
“He somehow defeated the second best swordsman in all of Tuwa, but what really did him in was his confrontation with Queen Kishi,” replied Aiden.
“Was she the one on top of that gigantic white wolf?” asked Lord Marcello, who had just entered the healers’ tent.
“Yes, she was riding a massive white wolf that killed several of our men without breaking his stride. Kishi killed a couple hundred men with her magic before Yukio confronted her. He sent her flying through the air with his magic. I did not know that he had such powers,” said Master Aiden in disbelief. He had known Yukio for as long as he could remember, but he did not know this about him.
“We saw his unbelievable powers. I do not think that anyone knew of his abilities. He really saved many of us today, but I hope that his madness abates for his own sake,” General Lang said solemnly.
“I am amazed at how much magic he did before finally collapsing. Using magic takes a significant toll on the body and mind. If he had not stopped when he did, he may have killed himself through overexertion,” commented Lord Marcello firmly. He eyed the general a moment longer and then left the tent.
“You should know that his mighty steed was ripped to pieces by that white wolf. That beast tore Yukio’s horse out from underneath him and then made a point of waiting to kill the poor creature until the general was looking. He swore a blood oath to kill Rolon and Queen Kishi. I do not think his madness is near an end. It is only beginning,” Aiden supplied hopelessly.
“At least his madness is helping our cause. I just hope that he can find peace when this is all over,” replied General Lang sincerely.
“As do I,” remarked Aiden as he wiped the fevered brow of his general.
Secret Plans
As Kana flew north on her dragon, she slowed down when she was over the Nairi Canyons. It looked like a massive series of lakes as she looked down on it. She began to circle the handiwork of Lord Neb as she pondered several different issues that required her attention. I need to plan out the next phase in the war quickly before the other side finds out what I know. I must move on what I have learned right away or risk losing my edge. Who knows what Adair would do to me after this treachery? I bet he has no idea that I know his secret. She laughed long and hard as she urged Ryo to continue to their journey. When she reached the camp that the army of Queen Kishi had used as a base for their attack on the Nairi Canyons, she sat down.
She slid down off the back of her massive black dragon. She continued to ponder the several different issues as she began to pace around an empty fire pit. The dragon lazily blew a snort of fire out of one nostril at the pit, and a blazing fire burst into life. Kana eyed her steed for a moment and then returned to the trench she was making by pacing around the fire pit. The black clouds that hung over Landen did not extend this far, so she could see that the sun was already setting in the west. The air began to bite as the temperature dropped drastically with the disappearance of the sun. Suddenly a pair of shiny crystal blue eyes peered at the pair illuminated by the firelight.
“I have been expecting you, Rolon. What took you so long?”
I was delayed a bit because of Queen Kishi. She took a rather nasty fall during the battle. Actually, she was sent flying by that worthless General Yukio. He was using magic like an accomplished druid, explained Rolon from his mind to Kana’s.
“I see. Did she survive?”
Yes, she did. She will not be able to fight for quite some time, which will put the high elves in a difficult position. Yukio also killed the powerful General Jaali as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. I really do not understand how he did this considering I broke his arm in several places before going to the rescue of Queen Kishi. I heard reports that Jaali cut off his own head while he was dueling with General Yukio. What does that mean? asked Rolon seriously. He did not like the ease with which the formidable general fell to the man Yukio.