Over ten thousand soldiers were following behind Talon as he led the way to Elysian Fields. This was the first time in his life that he had ridden with so many soldiers. This was his first war. It would be a short war, but a war nonetheless. His father had ridden to war a few times and had told him it was the scariest thing he had ever done.

  I wish you were here to give me advice. Talon thought. This was one of those times when he missed his father so much. Would his father have agreed to his plan to use Ashtari to take out Eshil Domain? In two days, he would be calling in his Ashtari to their first battle. At least none of his soldiers would die. That was the only solace in the days to come.

  Riding next to him were Corvin, Arthur, and Peitar, along with a few lords. Before leaving, Talon had sparred with his friends and had been impressed with their skill. Corvin had done a great job getting them trained. He wished he didn’t need his friends but he hadn’t brought them into his service to do nothing. They were some of the only people he trusted.

  The sun was beginning to fall. Soon he would tell everyone to stop for camp. “I will be starting the next part of the plan tonight,” Talon said.

  “What plan is that?” Lord Tygrias asked. He was a fit man with a goatee and ponytail, wearing freshly shined gray armor. Talon didn’t know much about him, which made him wary about what he said around the lord.

  “That’s for me to know,” Talon replied.

  “How can you expect us to help you when you leave us in the dark?” Tygrias complained.

  Talon said nothing. Corvin knew what he was going to do, but the others didn’t. He couldn’t tell his people he could use the power, not yet. They would find out on the battlefield.

  “My scouts have reported the enemy is on pace to arrive the same day we do,” Corvin said.

  “Good. The sooner this ends, the better,” Talon said. It was odd how he didn’t feel nervous about the upcoming battle. Was it because he could use the power? There was nothing Eshil Domain could do to stop him. A part of him was worried when he became too confident. The last thing he wanted to do was go down the path of Egmardern. I’m nothing like him. I look out for my people and am doing everything I can to protect all of Aidris. That was a fact.

  “My scouts reported the enemy had thirteen thousand troops,” Lord Yaloon said. He was a large man, who wore fancy clothing and no armor. He believed he shouldn’t dress as a warrior since he wasn’t one. Talon respected that. Too many lords dressed like soldiers, even though they’d never fought in a real battle.

  “Mine said twelve,” Tygrias said.

  “I hope Corvin has a good plan, as that would mean King Harold has two to three thousand more men than us,” Lady Tyleen said. She was a fierce woman with a temper, her brown hair braided and wearing light armor. Unlike Yaloon, she trained to fight on the off chance someone tried attacking her. Talon didn’t know if anyone ever had.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan,” Corvin said.

  “When will you tell us?” Tyleen asked.

  “When the time is right,” Corvin said.

  “Shouldn’t you tell us soon? We’re going to fight a big battle, after all,” Yaloon said.

  You and your men will do no such thing. Talon thought, unable to stop himself from smiling slightly. Nobody would die except for the enemy. The only solace in this entire mess.

  The only reason Talon didn’t ambush Harold with his Ashtari was that he had to bring his men to Elysian Fields. Spies were reporting his movement to Harold, and he wouldn’t go there if Talon wasn’t riding with his army.

  The sun was dropping fast, and the light was fading. Talon stopped. “Tell the men we camp here,” he said.

  “Understood,” Corvin turned to one of his men and ordered them to spread the word. Then he got off his horse and walked over to Talon, who nearly stumbled when his feet hit the ground. “We should have a war council to keep up appearances.”

  Talon sighed and nodded. “Agreed. Give me thirty minutes,” he said.

  Corvin walked away, and Talon walked toward the middle of the camp. He had Peitar and Arthur follow him. They both knew he could use the power, and he had to keep appearances of having guards with him at all times. Once he was out of sight of the lords and ladies, he turned, making sure no one could see, and then walked away from the entire army.

  There was a large rock toward which Talon was heading. He walked behind it. “Make sure nobody comes here,” he said.

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Peitar said.

  “You don’t have to call me 'Your Grace' in private,” Talon said.

  “It’s only proper to show you due respect,” Peitar said.

  Shaking his head, Talon felt the power flood into him. He created a portal and walked through it. His Ashtari were lazing about, though some stood the moment they saw him. Talon didn’t care what his Ashtari did, so long as they were ready. “You there, what’s your name?” he pointed at a random Ashtari.

  “Lewis Barder, Your Grace.”

  “Tell the others the attack starts in two days. Nothing else has changed. I will create a portal for you when the time is right. Remind them that disobeying will result in execution,” Talon said.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “I’ll let the others know, Your Grace,” Lewis said.

  If any of the Ashtari disapproved of Talon’s tone, they didn’t show it. He looked at the group. His Ashtari looked ready. There were some showing nerves, but that was expected. This is what they had been trained for.

  “Good, make sure to step through the portal the moment it appears,” Talon didn’t wait for a response and created another portal, appearing behind the rock. Peitar and Arthur were at the edge, keeping watch, and glanced at him as he returned.

  “That was quick,” Arthur said.

  “Didn’t need to say much,” Talon said.

  “Lord Yaloon tried to see you and was very angry when we wouldn’t let him past us,” Peitar said.

  What was the point of trying to hide? Talon thought. He couldn’t have been gone more than five minutes. “He didn’t suspect anything?”

  “Nothing at all,” Arthur said.

  “Good, then he can rage for all I care,” Talon motioned for them to follow. The camp was bustling as people set up their tents or started fires. The sun was almost gone now. “Let’s head to the war council.”

  Another way to waste his time. Talon looked forward to not having to do these for petty squabbles like this. No nation could threaten him, not anymore. Soldiers saluted him as he walked past them. He could see some who were nervous; oh, how he wished he could tell them that they wouldn’t have to fight, not yet. But he had to let his men stress, for telling them about his plan would be foolish. Besides, he couldn’t protect his people from battle forever.

  It took him a few minutes to locate the tent where the meeting was being held. There were a couple of royal guards standing outside, and he walked right through. Peitar and Arthur remained outside.

  Five lords and two ladies were standing by a map. They all greeted him, and he glanced at the map, seeing Elysian Fields. “Have I missed anything?” Talon asked.

  “Not much,” Corvin rested a finger on the map. “We were discussing our strategy. Eshil Domain likes their spear-and-shield combo. I was thinking of having a group of cavalry feign a charge while having foot soldiers and archers close behind. Once our archers are in range, they’ll fire. I anticipate Eshil Domain’s forces will try to flank us with their cavalry once they see what is going on. We’ll feign a retreat to pull the enemy in. Our goal is to utilize our archers to whittle them down while flanking them from the sides.”

  Talon feigned interest as if this was the most interesting part of his day. “Our archers have always been superior to theirs. Sounds like a fine strategy.”

  “If the enemy does what Corvin thinks,” Tygrias said, rubbing his goatee. “Harold isn’t a fool, and his generals are smart. They’ll anticipate such an action.”

  “Perhaps,” Corvin admitted. “That’s when I’ll improvise. A battle is always changing, and it is impossible to predict everything that will happen.”

  “That may be so, but humor us, what else could the enemy do?” Tyleen said.

  “Well, the enemy could refuse our bait and stay back. One way or another, we will need to force the enemy to come at us. However, I can only hazard a guess as to what I would do without being in the situation,” Corvin said.

  Talon tuned out the rest of the conversation. His right foot was tapping the ground furiously. This was such a waste of his time! He forced his foot to stop moving and tried to maintain his composure. Corvin had told him how important it was to keep appearances, otherwise, suspicion would be aroused that he was up to something.

  An hour of questions and talking passed and then it ended. Talon had almost called it twenty minutes ago but stopped when Corvin gave him a slight shake of his head. Luckily, the others hadn’t noticed.

  Exhaustion hit him all at once as he left the tent. All the riding and preparations had made him tired. Talon stifled a yawn and walked to his tent with Arthur and Peitar. He couldn’t wait until he no longer had to hide that he could use the power. It would make his life easier, at least when it came to ruling his kingdom. How the mages would react was still something he had to prepare for.

  A lizard slithering across Dorvan’s hand caused him to jump. The eerie silence, coupled with being touched, always startled him, and this wasn’t the first time a lizard had appeared out of nowhere. Some snakes slithered about, and one hissed at him before slithering off.

  He hated this desert. It was too hot during the day and freezing at night. Dorvan couldn’t wait to leave, even if it meant fighting. Anything was better than sitting here, waiting. Some of the other Ashtari had similar complaints, but most didn’t mind. He had a theory as to why. Many of the Ashtari would hold the power within for no reason at all. It did help, as it cleared away any fears, anxiety, and so on.

  That feeling of being invincible—that was what the power brought, and sometimes Dorvan feared what he would do if he got used to that feeling. The problem was he didn’t know enough about the power or its history. He knew about the War of Power, but what didn’t he or the others know? Was there a negative to using the power too much, or was he being paranoid?

  He’d asked Aurora about it once, and she shrugged his concerns off. Dorvan knew he should ask Qidan, yet something prevented him from doing so. Perhaps he didn’t want to look like a fool in front of his teacher.

  His hands started to shake as a cold wind brushed him. Shivering, he walked back to the fire and placed his hands in front of the flames, feeling the warmth spread across his fingers. Two of the Ashtari, Siara and Dahrone, were talking about the battle tomorrow. They were both excited and couldn’t wait to crush Eshil Domain’s army.

  Dorvan ignored their commentary and shifted slightly when he saw Aurora walk over and take a seat next to him. He enjoyed her company more than anyone else’s. Her silver hair was down, flowing freely, and she gazed into the fire, deep in thought.

  “Despite how excited I am, I can’t help being a bit nervous,” Dahrone was saying.

  Siara giggled nervously. “Me too. I wonder how many of the others are?” She looked around at the other campfires, where other Ashtari were sitting.

  “I know I am,” Dorvan muttered.

  “I’m not,” Aurora said.

  For some reason, that didn’t surprise him. Out of anyone here, Dorvan figured Aurora would be the most confident. “How can you not be nervous?” Siara asked.

  “I’ve never been one to stress about something I have no control over,” Aurora lowered her hands from the fire and leaned back. “I’d rather worry about things in my control. Besides, it’s not like we’re fighting mages.”

  “That’s true,” Siara said.

  “I think about the upcoming fight. I’ve dreamt about this battle every night since Talon told us. Knowing we’re fighting people who stand no chance doesn’t bring me comfort,” Dorvan said.

  “The way I think about it is we have a mission. Emotions can cause you to overthink things. But we’re all different. How I deal with things is very different from all of you,” Aurora said.

  Dorvan found himself laughing, along with Siara and Dahrone. Aurora looked a tad confused but didn’t say anything. “I envy your way of thinking,” Dorvan said, wiping a tear from his eye. It felt good to laugh like that.

  “Think we can all drink to that…” Dahrone raised his glass. “If only this were alcohol.”

  “If only,” the others said and touched cups before drinking. Dorvan wished this was alcohol, but they couldn’t risk drinking the night before a fight. At least, that’s what Qidan had told them before they left.

  “Well, you both got the first watch, right?” Siara asked Dorvan and Aurora.

  “Yeah,” Dorvan said.

  “Perfect, I’m going to get some shut-eye. Wake us when it’s our turn,” Dahrone said and got up.

  Since there was no telling when the battle would start, the Ashtari had guards up at night to keep an eye on the signal. Talon could create a portal at any time, and nobody wanted to be late.

  There were no words spoken between Dorvan and Aurora. He was focused on tomorrow and what that meant for the School of Power. In less than twenty-four hours, all of Aidris would change. The question was, would it be for the better or worse?