SWNOVELS Chapter Rally the Troops
The day after our return class resumed as normal. At the end of the week, when all of the students had arrived in the bunk room I stepped on the raised platform that had serves as a sparring platform for Spades chess. I faced the students, who were speaking among each other. I took a deep breath, and addressed the mass before me.
“Dragons, if I may have your attention please,” I raised my voice to carry over the room, and was surprised at how fast they quieted and turned their eyes to me. It had been so long since I had commanded such attention without feeling ostracised started again, this time with more confidence.
“Now I know all of you have been enjoying our little get togethers and I hope you had fun over the holidays.” I began, trying to keep my voice steady as I went on. “But the truth is that my friends and I started this tradition with another purpose in mind.” There was a murmur from the crowd, but I continued anyway.
“Earlier this year my raven, Kyrie, was injured by a messenger hawk. We intercepted the hawk and, subsequently, the message. The note told of an attack planned to take place during the Festival of Colors to arouse suspicion between Spades and Diamonds in hopes of inciting war. We-uh yes?” A second year had raised her hand.
“Why didn’t you go to the teachers?” My heart leapt in my throat. Out of all the times I had practiced this speech in front of my Eagles, they had never asked questions. Luckily Atalanta was there to catch the ball I dropped.
“The matter was originally brought before the teachers, however, it soon became apparent that this alerted whoever was planning the attack. We know this both because of another intercepted missive and because there have since been two attempted abductions of Kennedia and Allie, one such attempt was briefly successful.” That sent the room in an uproar, when they calmed, Atalanta looked to me to speak again.
“Look, I know it’s far fetched, but we really need your help. We estimated that a force of thirty people plan to attack the Festival under the guise of Diamond soldiers. While it may not seem like much, they could do a lot of damage against an unarmed crowd. We believe that if we train hard enough, we should be more than capable to neutralize them. That’s what the real purpose of our below ground excursions. Do I have your support?” I asked, and before the crowd could respond, a voice was heard from the back of the crowd.
“Why should we listen to you?” a girl I recognized as a Hatchling from the back of the room shouted.
“Yeah, aren’t you the one that makes weapons? How do we know this isn’t just an excuse to spill blood?” the boy next to her added, and I flushed.
“I would never-” I began to protest, but before I could, Zephyr butted in.
“So what if her talent is making weapons? How does that make her any different from someone who controls fire, or someone who alters matter? Those people use their gifts to better the world around them, so why can’t Allie do the same? So what if she might have a weapon on hand all the time, well guess what, we’re in Spade, so I don’t see how that makes her any different from anyone you see on the street.” He finished, and turned to give me an encouraging smile, prompting me to smile and nod as thanks. However, there were still a few doubts in the crowd. The boy in the back spoke up once more.
“But isn’t our magic supposed to indicate what kind of person we are? People who alter matter can be adaptable, and fire can signify passion. That reasoning applies to blades. Doesn’t the fact that you make weapons mean you’re inherently aggressive?”
Now my knees were shaking, I couldn’t think of anyway to deny their accusations. I began to feel lightheaded so I formed a halberd and leaned on it without thinking. When I did I heard whispers ripple through the crowd.
“I don’t know.” I whispered.
“What was that?” He challenged.
“I said I don’t know!” I shouted, causing the crowd to shrink back a bit. I winced but continued anyway, standing straight but still holding my halberd.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I am a bit aggressive. But you know what? Being able to make blades scares me as much as it scares you, but I’m trying to use that gift to protect people. But if you don’t think that’s a good enough reason to stay. If you think my magic is too much of a red flag to do what is right you can walk out of here right now and I promise I won’t stop you.”
I waited, looking out over the audience and locking eyes with everyone who would meet my gaze. Seconds ticked to minutes, but no one made a move to leave. I hopped off of the front of the stage, but everyone stayed. I explained that night’s schedule without interruption.
#
The next few months moved by swiftly, and thanks to Snapdragon’s spartan ideals, I was able to not only make my halberd on a regular basis, but also throw it like a javelin. It was difficult to adjust to the extra weight at the end, but after a few weeks I managed to hit my target half of the time. I no longer needed Snapdragon’s constant guidance during Armed Combat, I practiced alongside Atalanta and Kennedia when I was practicing throwing my knives and halberd. I would hack at the same dummies Daedalus would when honing my skills with the sword. I really enjoyed practicing alongside them, and we would often talk about our classes and laugh at each other’s mistakes, and before I knew it I felt like I spent my whole life in Ivaline instead of growing up on Pangaea.
It felt nice to spend so much time with my friends, even if we were learning how to kill people.
“Alright Hatchlings, listen up. The Festival of Colors is coming up, which means everyone will be with their Art to make sure it’s a success as always. As a result, you have been excused from classes in order to do your part after today. However, I would suggest coming to class when you can. You are dismissed.” She said and left us to check on the weapons condition.
I started the morning by following my friends to breakfast the next day. We sat at our usual table and ate.
“So,” I said while munching on a muffin, “what do you guys plan to do for the Festival?”
“Well, I’m in the Songbirds, so I’ll be practicing what songs we’ll perform at the Festival.”
“I’ll be manning the various games available to guests like the rest of the League.”
“Robin and I will be operating some of the shops. The Muses usually help out the Guild with their stalls because they are still making their wares during the festival.”
“Not to mention some Muses sell poetry and some of their own novels.”
I listened to their answers intently, the Festival, in truth, had been one of the things I had been looking forward to. Despite the impending threat, it seemed like it would be something to see.
A half hour later, I walked into the studio, where the Dancers were already warming up.
“Allie!” Fey called, and I jogged over to where she was stretching.
“What’s up?”
“About the attack that might happen during the Festival, the other Dancers and I have been discussing about what we should do.” She began. “Many of the girls can conceal their weapons within their costumes, but some of us, myself included, carry weapons that would interfere with our performance.” After a long debate, it was decided that their weapons would be under the stage. A trapdoor would be built in this year that could be easily activated by the appointed dancer. It was also arranged that the girls with weapons should be in the front so they could cover the others while they retrieved theirs.
“I can make your khopesh, Fey, since you’re leading us.”
“Good thinking, you can have it after lunch to practice recreating it, but right now we need to get back to the opening number.” We danced for the rest of the morning, and I took the afternoon to study and recreate the curved blade.
About a month before the festival, I was going to practice in the Sparring Hall with Fey for when I pass her khopesh to her in the event of attack. On our way, we came across Daedalus limping angrily by, a flustered Kennedia followed shortly afterward.
“I’m sorry Daedalus! I didn’t mean it I swear!”
“You threw me out a window!”
“Atalanta said street rules!”
“That doesn’t mean you throw me into the street!”
Fey and I were still shaking with laughter as we entered the massive room, relieved to find Snapdragon had just left, so she wouldn’t question the presence of a Fledgling in the Hatchling Sparring Hall. We spent the hour practicing various dances with Kyrie cawing at random times to simulate the attack starting. We did this to make sure that if the time came we could both be armed as smoothly and quickly as possible.
I returned to my room that night exhausted, but it was a satisfied exhaustion that comes with a difficult job well done. I lay there for a few minutes before Kyrie spoke up.
“You should write to your mom, you haven’t sent a letter since a few weeks ago.”
She was right, with all that was going on, writing a letter just hadn’t crossed my mind. That said, I was also still trying to decide whether or not I should tell her about the suspected attack, and what my Eagles and I planned to do about it. On one hand that’s probably the right thing to do, and she might be proud of me. On the other hand, the letter might be intercepted and my mom could have a heart attack knowing I was in danger.
In the end I ended up writing a letter detailing the preparation going on for the Festival of Colors and how we got out of class to do it. I kept the threat out of it though, she must be concerned enough not seeing me for seven months, she didn’t need to know about the danger I was in.
Once I sent Kyrie out with the letter I looked to Belladonna.
“Can you call for a meeting, I want a progress report.”
A few minutes later, We were gathered around the map table focused on Lailoria, munching on sweets and sipping on chocolate(courtesy of the Ebonys). Some of the students in the Guild made little figures of eagles to represent us and dragons to represent the rest of the student body. We had them arranged on the map where we knew they would be during the festival.
“The Dancers and I will be performing at the Dusk Plaza until noon, when we will move to the stage at Dawn Plaza, we’ll keep our weapons in the trunk where we keep our costumes in transit and smuggle them under the stage.” I began, pointing to the stages as a I explained. There in the circle were eleven dragons and an eagle. I moved them to show our change in position.
“Alright then,” Atalanta began. “We’ve agreed that the the attack is most likely going to occur in the Dusk Plaza, where the most tourists usually gather for the opening dance.” She gestured to the large circle on the map marking the round center of the city. “We have the bulk of our forces stationed at various stalls, but we also have a few scattered throughout the city just in case we’re wrong.”
“After speculating on the matter with the rest of the Muses.” Robin added. “It’s doubtful they will attack individually, it’s too risky, there’s a high chance a Spade, even an unarmed one, can subdue a single opponent easily. What we’re thinking is that they will all attack in Dusk Plaza during the Final Dance and make their way outward once the panic sets in.” Daedalus spoke as soon as Robin was finished.
“Because this is all guesswork, each student will be equipped with a signal beacon to fire so the rest of us know where the battle is and will have their weapons nearby for the entirety of the festival. Our Dragons in the Guild are working on it now.” We had decided, in theme with the figures, we would call our student army Dragons regardless of what year they were in. Kennedia spoke.
“For the most part, all of the Dragons know their positions and how they’re smuggling weapons into the festival, but we’re going to run through the plans next gathering.”
We spent the next few minutes going over details when Robin spoke up.
“What about the Viper camp?” He swiped his finger across the table, shifting the map’s focus to the spot where the falcon Briar lead Kyrie to the Vipers’ camp one evening.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if we just staged an attack on them before they got to the capital? Even if it just slows them down it could lighten the load on our Dragons during the festival.”
I shook my head, pointing to the mountain peak he was referring to.
“The reason the training parties avoid that area is because apart from the palace that’s the most difficult area in these mountains to approach. It’s easy to defend for that reason. Even if we convinced the teachers to let us go up there alone, they would have the tactical advantage of high ground. We could never get a group big enough to subdue them to the camp without them noticing, even if we moved by night, a sentry is bound to notice our presence. And, if by some miracle we manage to accomplish that goal, what would we do with them? We don’t have the resources needed to keep them captive and it’s not like we can carry them to the Palace on our backs. It’s best to confront them in the city where we can hit them with all of our forces instead of relying on guerilla warfare. Besides, if the attack has witnesses we can hand them over to the authorities when we have proof.”
“We do have some eagles flying out every once and awhile to make sure nothing big happens, right?” Inquired Atalanta, referring to Hawthorn and Ash, who I’d asked to do a fly by whenever they went for a flight. About three times a week, I would go up and have a chat before I went to bed, and they would update me then. Then I would report back to Kennedia, who was our acting secretary and record keeper.
As we dispersed, I took a moment to appreciate the efficiency of this organization, both the Eagles and the Dragons we guided. In Pangaea you could find countless articles attempting to explain the reason behind the ‘acting out’ of today’s youth but never take the time to mention the potential we have. Give us a reason to and we could accomplish anything. I returned to my room to find Kyrie preening her feathers by the fireplace, which I lit with a thought.
Blackthorn had explained that while every person’s manipulation of magic was different, there were certain substances that responded to it very easily, regardless of the user. The glowing sand was one example, dimming or lighting up to match the intent of the closest magic wielding entity. In the case of two conflicting motives, the more capable user got their way. The fire glass in the fireplaces and braziers was slightly more difficult, but not much. I remember when I first mastered it I spent hours turning things on and off until Kyrie yelled at me to stop. I chuckled at the memory as I sat down by the fire to read the letter she had placed on the fireside table.
Dear Allie,
I’m glad to hear from you, it’s been a while and I was starting to worry.
I felt guilt form in my stomach. I had been truly worked to the bone these past few weeks, barely pausing to dress in my nightclothes before crashing onto the bed each night. I had no doubt my cause was a worthy one, but I didn’t want my mother to think that I was forgetting her. I read on.
I know that you must be in a dangerous situation, but I can’t keep guessing.
What was she talking about?
Whatever sort of code or cipher you’re using we can’t make it out.
I felt a pit form in my stomach, knowing something had gone terribly wrong.
We went to the authorities as soon as your first letter arrived, but they couldn’t make any sense of it either. Please, if it isn’t too dangerous, tell me what actually happened, I can’t take much more of this.
My blood ran cold and I set the letter down and went to the window. At first I was annoyed, just because I was picked on in school she thinks that I can’t be happy somewhere else? Seriously? The thought was pushed out of mind as quickly as it came by guilt. She thought I had been abducted, and I’m annoyed that she’s worried? I walked to the fireplace.
“Kyrie, when you deliver my letters where do you put them?”
“I push them under the door, they’re never home when I arrive, and I can’t open the mailbox outside. Why?”
“It appears my mother thinks I’ve been abducted and my letters were supposed to be in some kind of code.” My voice shook as I said it, tears coming to my eyes.
“I see,” was all Kyrie said, and I broke down into tears.
“I can’t do this Kyrie. I can’t do it. I should be reading books by the window and going to high school, not organizing a student army. I want to go home, where my mom and dad know I’m safe and I don’t have to worry about my friends being in danger.” I curled up on the window seat and cradled my head in my arms, shaking with sobs. I felt Kyrie’s feathers on my cheek.
“Why don’t you go see Hawthorne? The night air might help you feel better.”
After a while I nodded and got up, only pausing to grab my cloak before making my way up to the tower. I came out to the open night air just as Hawthorne was settling back into his nest.
“Evening Allie, is something wrong? You seem upset.” He said, noting the tears streaming down my cheeks. Sobbing, I told him about my mother’s letter and my doubts about whether or not I could go through with leading an army. He listened quietly until all of my worries were out in the open night air and my tears were dry. I leaned against the railing of the tower overlooking the beach. It wasn’t until moments after, when the full moon was high in the sky that he spoke.
“As difficult as it seems, you’re not alone. You have formed strong bonds with those around you, otherwise they wouldn’t follow you. Eagle Bastion has become your home to.”
I nodded, starting to feel a bit more optimistic about the situation.
“Why don’t you ask your friends for help? With all you’ve accomplished thus far, I’m certain you five could come up with a way to make this better.”