Chapter 471
Foire
He was being trusted in this newest wave of the siege. Trusted to ensure that there were no others that experienced what he did. Perhaps it wasn’t very Keel of him, but Foire couldn’t bring himself not to care at the thought of another child left parentless or a mate left bereft of their lover. The rest of Ashlani’s leadership was willing to throw away dozens and even hundreds of lives for success. Perhaps that was a better way to rule, to embrace the reality of death, but he could not, not when he was once a victim of the suffering of the one and been a close witness of a second.
“There,” he pointed. A flicker of shadow had dipped through the shadows provided by one of the spawn and was barely entering the bounds of the city. Nievtra would never be despoiled, never again. The Misti Hawar had once broached these walls and allowed to run rampant, but Foire would do everything he could to ensure their blood fed the little ones they so desperately sought to slaughter.
At his command, a pack of twenty Kha rushed forward, each one holding a torch and under the command of a Khatif with minor magical abilities. That intruder would be easily dealt with, as had the dozen that had attempted this same tactic before them. Sure of his call, Foire turned his attention back to the edges of the battlefield. The fight itself wasn’t under his command, but ensuring that the slaughter remain outside of the reach of those not yet ready for the siege was his battle.
And he was already successful on that account.
***
Joral
It had been frustrating to learn that, though his magic bore a similarity to Sybil and Shemira’s, it lacked their ability to dispel hostile magic within its reach like theirs did. The bit of experimentation that they’d done had led him to the conclusion that his magic was, frankly, too gentle. Instead, he could only communicate openly with the herds and calm them in times of worry. Though that was helpful in his position as the leader over the herds, it certainly wasn’t as impactful in battle as any of the other magics he had seen.
He’d always felt like Ashlani had high expectations for him, ever since he hatched. At first, though he was just an Alpha over them, it was obvious that Ashlani would be great. Then he became the swarm alpha, and now the Zaaktif, and Joral had constantly felt as if he had disappointed his mentor. After all, a Keel was supposed to be strong, indomitable. He was strong, could carry himself well in a fight, but every one of the elites who survived the escape from human lands could do the same. In truth, Joral was pretty convinced that, other than Ytte, he was the weakest in direct combat of all of the Keel. Then, with her magic? He couldn’t compare.