Stathis slowed to catch her breath, now outside the town. Despite the distance between her and the centre, she could still hear the stone crack and break as she put Janaxia down. She turned to see what had happened – the dark seemed to have lessened slightly, although there was now a thick pall of dust in the air instead, obscuring her vision just as much. Other buildings were still standing though, so at least they hadn’t blown up the entire place!

‘Everyone still alive?’

She got a variety of grumbles and affirmations, Hakara the most winded, checking through her pouches to make sure nothing had been lost. Janaxia was already cleaning specks of dust from her hair and off her clothing, before starting to conjure up Mavrosa, the jet-black horse appearing from nothingness.

Message horns sounded out, booming out through the air. Stathis saw Pajaran tilt her head, listening to the tones.

‘That’s the call for all senior officers.’

‘Dammit. Never any rest! Is everyone good to move? There’s still whoever was operating that thing to deal with, but let’s deal with one problem at a time.’ The horns sounded again. ‘Yes, OK, I’m going! Janaxia, you as well. In case there’s a meeting with Zarazonnia. Just remember – no thrones!’

Janaxia climbed on the back of Mavrosa, side-saddle at first before twisting to straddle over Mavrosa’s rump, wrapping her arms around Stathis. Stathis kicked her heels, Mavrosa accelerating into a swift canter, rapidly covering the distance.

The horns weren’t coming for any of the camps, but from a field between them. As she raced towards the sound, Stathis could see that a cluster of banners had been erected, Iristari blue, and Sethan black-and-gold. The bulk of the armies were at a safe distance, with nothing flying over that could be a threat, everyone at rest, although with weapons close and ready.

A banner flapped – one of the Iristari ones, a guard spotting her. At least that meant her arrival wouldn’t cause any upset! Well, hopefully. Janaxia’s arms were tight around her waist, pushed tightly against her from behind.

Well, this certainly seems rather rapid! This would be a rather high-ranking diplomatic conference, I believe? To which I have been invited!

‘This isn’t a chance to show off! I need you to try and get Zarazonnia to help us against the undead, and the rest of your family. We can probably buy her off with some land or something, but it’s going to be awkward if she presses for battle – it would be a struggle to take her down, never mind the rest of her army. But she respects you, and knows you, and that should make things easier.’

I am flatted you have such faith in me!

‘You’re pretty good at negotiating and stuff. Although maybe use your actual voice more? It can be a little unsettling.’

‘I suppose when being diplomatic, it might make things a little smoother. Although it may be useful to maintain secrecy in some scenarios.’

The lines of banners was closer now, and Stathis could see that a pavilion had been erected, the sides open so those inside could be seen. It was high enough that Zarazonnia didn’t have to stoop, her green scales and armour easy to see. Opposite her was Mother, in her own full harness, both sides having a small contingent of guards and advisors with them.

Stathis pulled on the reins, making Mavrosa slow and then stop. Everyone was tense and on alert, hands never far from weapons, everyone nervous and twitchy, dull gleams around wizard’s wands and staffs. She whispered to Janaxia. ‘Nice, slow movements – nothing that might be misinterpreted.’

Janaxia hmphed. I have attended conferences and councils before! And ones with far harsher penalties for infractions. At least everyone here is alive and material. Now, is my clothing appropriate?

Stathis brushed Janaxia’s hands off, then dismounted and looked at her – her dress blues had gotten even dressier, trim and fringe appearing on her wrists and around her neck.

‘Tone it down, I think.’

The fringe retracted and then vanished, the waistline tightening, fabric now crisp and fresh. Compared to her, Stathis felt battered and worn, sweaty inside her armour. Janaxia gestured, a force gently moving over Stathis, cleaning grime and grit, her armour getting a little shinier.

‘Thanks.’

It is only fitting that you look appropriately tidy – while a certain amount of battle-damage is impactful, it is easy to overdo.

‘I have actually been fighting! And carrying you. But thanks. Now, let’s go and try and convince Zarozinnia to help us.’

They walked towards the pavilion, Stathis keeping her hand well away from her sword, glancing over at Janaxia, checking that she was walking rather than conjuring up her throne again. Fighters from both sides looked at them – Iristari in their uniforms, horned and scaled Sethans, some of them now wearing looted armour or other trophies of their conquests.

Mother was there, in full battle-dress, accompanied by Dorothea and other advisors. A large table had been set up, a map of the continent marked out, marked with several coloured in overlapping blobs representing… control? Influence? Given the lack of long-distance communications, then it must be an approximate guess rather than anything precise, although a lot of the boundary lines followed the geography, ending at rivers or mountain ranges. There was a long series of blue blobs, circles overlapping with a deeper blue where they merged, and some more isolated segments, further from Per Tolith. And a few, even further out – hopefully ones that wouldn’t need reinforcing at all! Even with message-towers, getting word from them would be a long process, far too long to be able to send help in any useful timeframe.

A few of the other major cities had their own colours, marked around themselves, sometimes extending to nearby towns, sprawling up against terrain features. Some had even earned themselves markers representing… probably notable forces? Belazaan had several wooden discs piled up – the place did hire a lot of mercenaries, so that made sense. Although everything must be rough estimates, as there was no telling what forces were where, and under whose command. Black circles were even vaguer, the dark ink fading into the baseline colour of the parchment, although a few had markers themselves. Some she recognised as being areas known for dark magic, the creatures and entities that lived in them probably now more active and hostile. And possibly under active command. Others were more worrying – having settled areas demarcated as being under the shadowy imprint, the inhabitants probably being used as fodder for undead, that was a cause for concern.

And then there was a bright, scarlet red area, surrounded by small dots. That helped Stathis orientate where she was, finally getting some specific details – miles from anywhere, far from the usual trade routes or the ocean. Well, that made sense!

Zarazonnia’s scales slid and slithered as she coiled her tail beneath herself, all of the Iristari soldiers looking nervous. She was dressed for combat, although her armour was brilliantly polished, brassy tints complimenting her green scales, her black hair streaming out from beneath an open-faced helm, three sword hilts on each hip. Mother was in full armour as well, her own blade hanging at her waist. The two of them, and everyone else, were all looking at Stathis as she entered, trying to seem relaxed.

She saluted, sliding her sheathed sword from its belt loop and holding it out, offering it up. One of the other officers came forward, looking at her, then turning to Mother for guidance.

‘High Colonel Stathis, there is no need to surrender your weapon.’ She turned to Zarazonnia. ‘She has been away on… independent patrol.’

‘Quite far-ranging patrol, it seems. Although your armour must be rather more comfortable here than in the ash. I was impressed with your fortitude in making it through the desert.’ Stathis felt a blush rising up her face, trying not to cough to hide her awkwardness. ‘A shame you didn’t deal with Poratia then.’ Despite her unconcerned tone, her eyes were sharp, gaze flicking between her and Janaxia. ‘A fortuitous alliance, it seems? Although, Commander Iochia, should you not be concerned that she shows as much maternal concern as Lady Janaxia? They did help me survive Poratia’s betrayal at the fighting arena, but discovering that Lady Janaxia’s… partner… is your own heir is somewhat unexpected.’

Stathis caught the slightest look of surprise on Mother’s face before she composed herself. ‘Well, she is old enough to look after herself. Although I’m sure she will tell of more all her adventures at a suitable juncture. At least, I sincerely hope to get the full story as soon as is convenient.’ Her look made Stathis want to run away, having to steel herself. ‘And Captain Tremari has her own skills.’

‘Impressive, to suborn one of your enemy’s own kin. And Stathis managed an impressive job of pretending to be nothing but a loyal bodyguard.’

Stathis wanted to curl up inside her own armour, everyone staring at her.

I believe this is the point when you should appear commanding and in charge? Although not so much that you disrupt the existing hierarchy?

She slid her sword back into place before stepping forward, closer towards the table. ‘It was regrettable that there wasn’t an opportunity to deal with Poratia before everything went to hell. But I’m sure you can see the scale of the threat against us.’ It would help if she actually knew anything about the specifics of the threat herself! ‘The undead and the spell that was invoked by Poratia are larger dangers – my advisors tell me that the pall of darkness is growing and spreading. As it grows, then the sun will be blocked, and it won’t be long until crops fail, and then famines will start. Before that happens, we need to eliminate the threat, and get rid of that spell. Queen Zarazonnia, your aims are to acquire territory, are they not? Forgive me for my bluntness, but time is of the essence.’

A vague telepathic murmur gave some reassurance that she wasn’t doing terribly.

Zarazonnia slapped the hilt of one of her swords, the sheathe rising up behind her. All the guards tensed up, readying to fight, but Zarazonnia let out a loud, harsh chuckle, metal rattling as she slapped the hilt again.

‘An warrior and a diplomat? And one that has even seen Setha-in-the-Ash herself, and travelled with the army sent to conquer her home? Have you considered joining me? Such a shame you are mortal – with a dozen like you, I could conquer the world. And probably without having to put too much of it to the sword or commit it to the fire. I wonder how many other agents like you there are?’

It was Mother’s turn to chuckle. ‘Stathis is one-of-a-kind. Which is probably for the better, all things considered. But she does have the experience and perspective required for her eventual role.’

That got a warm and satisfied almost-purr from Janaxia, Stathis resisting the entirely undiplomatic urge to roll her eyes before continuing. ‘We don’t know entirely what forces we’re fighting – there was some magical device that was animating ancient elven corpses.’

A telepathic cough made her stop talking, Janaxia stepping forward and giving an awkward bow-salute, stuck halfway between “military” and “court” etiquette. She tossed her hair as everyone looked at her.

‘My specialist will now give her report.’ At least that got everyone’s focus of her!

‘The preserved bodies are easier to raise with necromantic magic, allowing them to be crafted into more potent warriors, aided by the natural elven agility and their innate magic. Those that had magical prowess in life may retain that as well, allowing them access to a range of magical effects. However, they are lacking in numbers and organisation. Of greater concern is the skill and craft used to raise them. It is not the sort of thing that is easy to craft, and it takes a practitioner of great adroitness to do such a thing. There will likely be other such potent creatures, that will take a focused application of martial force to destroy.’

By the time she got to the end, her words were faster, Janaxia floundering slightly. Stathis wanted to reassure her, but there wasn’t really any way to do that, not with everybody watching.

‘Of greater concern is the power used for this. A normal magus is bound by their own constraints, which limits the number of creatures they can raise. I assume everyone here that needs to know is aware of a certain dark-tinted metal?’

A low murmur went around the room, Zarazonnia and Mother’s eyes both narrowing.

‘I believe that serves as the catalyst for the process, although am not entirely sure of its provenance.’

Stathis spoke up. ‘The Blade. I think it’s fragments, somehow, of the Blade, of the Black Triad.’ It was obvious who amongst the Iristari soldiers hadn’t been paying attention to previous briefings and didn’t know what she was talking about, and who immediately looked worried. ‘The same is used to create the doppelgangers – people are implanted with them, somehow. I don’t know how much control they have – all the ones I’ve met have seemed in control of themselves, and also tried to kill me. But until we find the Blade, then they’re going to be able to make more of them.’

I… may be able to help with that. I believe the Blade may be at the family estate in Saltstone. At least if it hasn’t been moved. Do you want me to announce that?

Stathis glanced at the map, twisting her head to try and find Saltstone – it was, unsurprisingly, deep within a patch of shadow. There didn’t look to be any forces nearby, save for a solitary yellow blob, some unaligned force in a nearby town. And that had probably been destroyed or suborned by now. Stathis nodded.

‘In the course of my investigations, I believe I may have discovered the location of the Blade, at great personal risk to myself. Poratia had recently constructed a research chamber, warded against intrusion and divination. While I was there, I saw an ancient weapon, an oversized weapon, the blade of cracked and warped black metal. It is possible that it is still there, as the equipment would be hard to move.’

Zarozinnia spoke. ‘I was not expecting such forthrightness. Especially from a double-agent.’

Stathis went to speak, but Mother was faster. ‘This is no time for territorial squabbles! Had you invaded before, then I would have done all I could to stop you. But it seems that, sadly, several major territories are now largely empty. Once this threat is dealt with, then we can come to an understanding. And your solders are not to invade anywhere, or there will be war, and neither of us can afford that. Stathis has some of what were your troops under her command – how long can you retain force coherency?’

Zarozinnia bridled, tail flicking about, Sethans stepping back to avoid being hit, the thing making an audible impact as it struck the ground. ‘I still maintain enough strength to force a battle though – I will have land for those sworn to me. But it sounds as though something can be arranged.’

‘That will suffice. Enough blood will be shed – but, for now, let us fight the greater foe. And then I’m sure some empty lands can be found. In fact, I think Colonel Stathis has been doing something similar already - she appears to have recruited some Sethans herself. We do pride ourselves on making use of auxiliary forces whenever possible. Saltstone though – that won’t be easy to get to, without any magical forms of transportation. Even with the fastest horses and ships, that would take over a week.’

‘What about the eagles? Would they be fast enough?’

‘They might be, but would have to be asked. They would have to be asked as well, and they seem to take quite some convincing. And it would be impossible to transport any great number of soldiers.’

The thick, musky scent of incense roiled out of nowhere, thin lines of smoke drifting upwards towards the pavilion roof. Warding spells flickered into life, vivid lines of colour that hung in the air before fading, tumult descending, weapons sliding into hands, everyone edging around the leaders. Neither Mother nor Zarozinnia drew their own weapons, although both tensed up slightly, their gazes locked together, ready to fight.

The incense-haze flowed together into a thick and pungent cloud, pulsing with a warm, pink glow. The sound of a dozen choirs sounded out, wordlessly harmonious, sounds wrapping and twisting around each other.

‘Are you there? It’s been a nightmare getting all the different churches and temples to work together.’ A discordant burr of sound added itself to the choral resonance, Carissia’s voice barking in response. ‘Keep on tune! Unless you want to see your god a lot sooner than you might want to.’ Her tone returned to normal. ‘I don’t know how long they’ll be able to keep this open, and there was a lot of resistance. I’m in Sainted Hirata – it’s under attack. There were some creatures down in the vaults that the fools didn’t tell me about, and now they’re loose! I’m holding as much as I can, but it’s bad. They’re inside the city, and we don’t have the forces to hold. We need whatever forces you can spare, before they get into somewhere they shouldn’t be.’

Mother raised her hands, then slowly lowered them, the other Iristari hesitating before sheathing their own blades. ‘Priestess Carissia. It’s good to hear your voice. But the aid I can lend is scant – my forces are far from Sainted Hirata. Can you not secure the artefacts?’

‘If I knew where they were! The fools in charge all want to protect their own, so they’re scattered all over the place. Some of them are coming around, but a lot of them are secured behind wards and sealings, so they’re not easy to move as well. There’s nowhere we can set battlelines, no centre to defend.’

‘Who are the attackers?’

‘Varied. Mostly undead – I keep trying to find their leader, but they keep moving. I think it’s another Uth Tremari, but I haven’t been able to confirm. And there are some demons, even what looks like Sethans, although I’ve no idea what they’re doing here. But we can’t hold out that much longer – it’s all I can do just to defend, and if a necromancer manages to get into the oldest vaults, there’s all sorts of things down there they could release or raise.’

The choir wavered again, Carissia using some decidedly unholy language to keep them on task.

‘I’ll see what I can do, but I won’t be able to send much. There’s a lot more going on. Hold as much as you can, but if you have to, get anything powerful away from there, and save as many people as possible. Is Master Yeros there as well?’

‘Yes, he’s been rallying the locals, and his squires have been helping with the defences. It’s their first time in real combat, but they seem to be managing.’

‘Look to him for advice – he has much wisdom. But protect what you can.’ The smoke started to fade, the sound suddenly cutting out completely, leaving nothing but the scent behind. ‘I will give you the credit of believing that this is not a feint. For now, I propose an alliance – we can settle the precise terms later, but I’m sure we can find something agreeable, and there are few others that have the power to make any agreement worthwhile. So, Queen Zarozinnia, will you help this land find peace, that you may settle here?’

Zarozinnia looked every inch the fierce demon-queen, surrounded by her soldiers, weapons at the ready, waiting for her signal, green scales and brass armour. She crossed one pair of arms across her chest, another two resting on her blades, two more extended, palms open. ‘That may be simpler than a war here. And if you will lend me your aid to crush our enemies, then we may be able to come to an agreement. But it seems there is chaos elsewhere? I never had the pleasure of sieging Accursed Hirata myself – had I been there, then it is likely it would not stand. But even I have heard of the powers stored within its vaults, and if our foe were to access them, it would be unpleasant. This darkness is a threat to those that fight for me, and so must be fought.’ She looked around herself, her soldiers sliding their weapons away, although with obvious reluctance. ‘I wish you speed in this endeavour – my forces are even more limited than your own.’

Mother dipped her head, just slightly, but enough to be seen. ‘Of course. I will have my diplomats draw something up, to try and formalise this somewhat. And then I think there needs to be some event to mark it.’ She turned to look at Stathis. ‘I think a formal dinner, with officers in attendance.’ Her gaze moved over Janaxia, who stiffened, her own eyes adopting the traditional “focused at some point behind the shoulder of the commanding officer” look of a stunned recruit. ‘I’m sure there will be a lot to talk about.’ Janaxia saluted, with enough force that Stathis heard her hand knock against her head, her body stiff and awkward, making a faint telepathic squeak. ‘But until then, I must try and resolve this. I trust, Queen Zarozinnia, that you will keep your own forces under control?’

‘That won’t be a problem. Now that they can be granted what they came for, then my power will be assured.’ She twisted around, uncoiling herself, ready for movement, soldiers forming up around her.