Honor and Blood

"But what's all this for?" Tarrin asked curiously.

"Ye not be schooled in the art of warfare," Jegojah noted. "All this, it was done to completely isolate Sulasia. With all its neighbors either engaged in wars or in disarray, Sulasia, she can get no support, no."

"But why would they get involved in a war between Sulasia and Daltochan to begin with?" Tarrin asked.

"Because of the Goblinoids, for one, and later other u

Now Tarrin understood. Jegojah was right. So far, the rumors of Goblinoids hadn't raised much of a fuss in other kingdoms. But when word got out that there were huge numbers of very u

"I see now, but why such a force?" Tarrin asked. "It wouldn't take something like this to capture a city."

"Suld, she is not an ordinary city, Were-cat," Jegojah replied. "It is a very well defended city, and add to that, yes, that it is the home of the Tower of Six Spires, and the katzh-dashi. It would take an overwhelming army to take Suld, because the ki'zadun knows that if they were to attack Suld, the Goddess of the Sorcerers would rise up and personally intervene."

"If they know that, then why are they bothering to try?"

"Because they have a god of their own," Jegojah replied. "Did ye not know that the ki'zadun seek the Firestaff not for themselves, but to free Val?"

Tarrin was stu

Jegojah chuckled. "Jegojah, he sees that ye did not know," he said. "That is what all of this is about. The ki'zadun, it has long been the dark organization of Val, and its objective is to free their god from his prison. Entrapped, Val is, but he still can wield some power in the world, and that power would be used, yes, to allow the ki'zadun to attack and take Suld. They seek to raze the Tower, for it is the central power of the Goddess and the katzh-dashi. Without the Tower and the Goddess, Val would have no serious opposition to finding the Firestaff."

"The power of the Sorcerers isn't based in the Tower," Tarrin objected.

"It is, yes," Jegojah countered. "All gods, even Val, are represented in the mortal plane by an icon, an object, that represents them here. Destroy that icon, and the god loses contact with the world until he can create another. And that can take centuries. Spyder entrapped Val's godly spirit into his icon, forcing him into the mortal world, which drastically reduced his power. Even an Elder god like the Goddess of the kazth-dashi is restricted in this ma

Tarrin gave Jegojah a shocked look. Mother, is that true? he had to ask.

It is very true, my kitten, she said seriously. If they destroy my icon, my power will be lost to my Children. That means that all the Sorcerers would be stripped of their powers, and I doubt very many would survive it. The Weavequake it would cause would be catastrophic, akin to another Breaking. Only the weakest of my Children, those least co

"The ki'zadun, they think they know where the icon of the Goddess is, yes. In the Tower of Six Spires."

Tarrin knew exactly where and what it was. It was that statue in the center of the hedge maze. That statue never seemed to be a statue, it had always seemed alive. Well, in a way, it was alive. It was the physical representation of the Goddess, and from it, from her, all magic into the world flowed. The Heart was not in the middle of the center Tower, as many believed. The true Heart was in the middle of that maze. It was merely overshadowed by the Conduit that came up through the center Tower, using it as a diversion, a shield, to conceal the icon's presence.

"So, the strife in the West, it is but a plan to get a large enough army, filled with all ma

Tarrin was awed, and he was horrified. It was a clever plan, clever and thorough. They could get rid of the Sorcerers, remove Tarrin, and get to the Firestaff unopposed, all in one fell swoop. All they had to do was take Suld. It was a very well-formed plan, he had to admit, looking at it, and had been successful up to that point. The conditions were indeed perfect for what they were doing. Shace was as good as in a state of civil war. Daltochan was well into Sulasia, and Tykarthia and Ungardt were fighting. Sulasia had no allies, no help to beat back an invasion from undead legions, hordes of Goblinoids, members of the Fae-da'kii, or even some Demons. If they could get that force to Suld, then there was a very good chance that they could take the city before the other kingdoms came to their senses and moved to aid Sulasia.

The enormity of it was nearly overwhelming. Had he been standing, Tarrin would have sat down. Hard. "What do we do to stop it?" Tarrin managed to ask.

"Well, a plan uncovered is a plan easily thwarted," Jegojah said. "Unfortunately, Were-cat, we an only warn the Tower, yes. They can take steps, if possible. But honestly, there is little we can do, yes. Little more than warn."

"More than that," Tarrin said, his mind turning. "It seems that the best way to stop them would be to let them continue with their plan, let them get to Suld, and find out that there's a force at hand capable of defeating theirs."

"Risky, but workable," Jegojah said. "If Jegojah commanded, he would ambush their forces some distance from Suld, so that the city itself is not at risk, no. Fighting that kind of battle, it is risky, especially considering the price of defeat. Yes."

Tarrin remembered the terrain around Suld. "It wouldn't work," Tarrin said. "There's a large empty plain between the city and the forest suitable for a battle like that, but the high ground is on the east, and it abuts the forest. That would put the enemy on high ground if we lined up on the plains, or would allow the enemy to hide its forces in the forest if we occupied the ground beside it. Neither are workable."

"Those both, they are very bad moves," Jegojah grunted. "Right, you are, Were-cat, yes."

"And since you can't fight a battle on that scale in the forest, you'd have to pick a defensible area. Unfortunately, the only defensible area would be the city walls."

"Right again," Jegojah nodded. "Surprising, ye are, Were-cat. Intelligence, it is not something they attribute to you, no."