The Fall of Qasala: Part Two

     As I let the spell which enabled my voice to be heard throughout the city, I couldn't help but wonder just how many Qasalans were listening to the message with an increasing sense of dismay. To be torn away from your home and your loved ones, not knowing whether you would live to see the next sunrise… it was a feeling I had never felt but could imagine all too well.

      I jerked myself away from those thoughts and started focusing on my job, what I was supposed to be doing. I carefully laid a large sheet of blank white paper on the table and got out some brushes. In my mind I could see the city of Qasala as if I was a Pteri flying over head. Picking up a brush with some difficulty and dipping it in the ink pot, I began to lay out my plans.

     *

      Wearied by thirst and lack of sleep, the Sakmetian army marched on in the blazing morning sun. Too them it seemed as if they had been trooping forever in these cursed endless deserts. Still, all of them were loyal to their Princess, all of them were willing to endure much more on her orders. They all knew that she did nothing without reason.

     And secretly all of them felt proud at the thought that when all of this was over, their Princess would truly be the ruler of all the Lost Desert, and their city would be the major city in the desert. All the trade would go there, making the city flourish and prosper, and they would be the proud guards of all the splendour and beauty that was to come. Besides, what was a little tramping in the desert? None of them thought that they would find any trouble in ordering all the other 'renegade cities' to bow down to the Princess, if they existed at all.

     Little did they know just how wrong they were. If the army could have seen what was to befall them in a couple of days, more than three quarters of them would have turned and fled.

     *

      A knock on the door brought me to my senses as I sat in a dream-like trance at the table. Swiftly getting to my hooves I walked over to the door and opened it. Two royal Unis, one female and one male, trotted in.

      "Daysteed? Nightsteed? Here for the plan of defence, I presume?"

      "You presume right," Daysteed replied. She looked as if she had been running errands all day. "We need to know what you're planning so we can make our own plans accordingly."

      I beckoned them over to the table where my crude but accurate map of the city was sitting. I waved a hoof over my drawing.

      "That's what I've got so far. I'm planning to cast an illusion over the whole city, just in case. If the army keeps marching in our direction anyway, I'll just cast off the illusion in one sweep, to gain us the advantage of surprise. Then I can use my magic in defence. The red lines are where I'll plant lines of fire as traps for their soldiers. The blue lines is where I'll create rivers to use as a moat. See, the moat will encircle the entire city with an outer border of fire."

      "Fire won't burn long without fuel," Nightsteed said thoughtfully, "and water can be bridged in a few days. I don't mean to put pressure on you, but that's not enough - we'll need more time to gather our troops and supplies, give orders, stuff like that. What are those yellow streaks for?"

      "I've examined the area around the city, and those are the areas where we are weakest. A fault was found in the wall there a few years ago, and I don't think that it's been mended properly. That's our front gate - easy enough to knock down with a battering ram. So I'll have to concentrate on those areas. I'll create chasms that will be impossible to breach. They'll have to be small, but they should be enough. I was thinking of doing it for the smaller wallgates too, but we need an escape route just in case, and they shouldn't be too hard to defend, small as they are."

      "Vin." Daysteed looked at me, her normally merry eyes serious. "I can't use magic and I'm not a Power like you, but I know enough of magic to know that that sort of magic will take a lot of energy. You're going to be tired day and night just from holding the spells. The city is huge. If you're going to surround it with that much magic…"

      "Come now, Daysteed," I said, trying to sound light. "It's all for the good of the city, really, and it's King Razul's orders. Besides, it really isn't that much magic - only four works."

      "You think you can cope with it?"

      "Of course!" I tried hard to smile and I think I might have succeeded, but Nightsteed shook his head.

      "You're a horrible liar, Vinifae. Don't work too hard now."

      But even as I showed the Steeds to the door, I knew that both of them knew that that was exactly what I was planning to do.

     *

      Night had fallen over the tired heads of Amira's troops. The banner that they had carried all day long had been tied to a tree and was now lying still, slumped against the trunk, sometimes lazily flapping a little before drooping down again. It seemed to reflect the army themselves. Most had gone to sleep. Half of those awake were merely chatting quietly or staring into the fire. The rest were at the sentry post, fighting to keep their eyes open.

      One particular yellow Kyrii was feeling particularly dozy as he stared out into the night. It was his first time marching with the Army and he was hungry and thirsty and wanted to sleep. He didn't want to do sentry duty, but he was appointed to do so and so as a loyal soldier of Amira he had no choice but to obey.

      As he remembered his duty, he stood up a little straighter and peered cautiously into the darkness, feeling that he had something to live up to. A true soldier did not laze half asleep when he had a post to fill. A true soldier did his duty without complaining for the good of all.

     *

      "The illusion is in place, my lord," I told Razul. "Should the followers of Amira glance upon our direction they will see nothing but sand.

      "Thank you, Vinifae," Razul replied quietly. "You have done well."

      Still, by the tone of his voice I could tell he was worried, worried for his people, as a proper king should be. I felt helpless - my king and his people were threatened, and all I could give them were a few days. I knew that it was more than most Qasalans could do, but I was the Power of Qasala and I should be able to hold back the invaders all by myself! It was only the knowledge that I would be of no use to my city if I overstrained myself too much that kept me from flinging out all my power right at that moment. And besides, magic was apt to leave the user if it was all used up too quickly, and once it was all gone, of what further use would I be?

      "Vinifae? Are you alright?" Razul was looking at me with concern in his eyes. "You should rest - you'll be having a monstrosity of a day tomorrow."

      "As you wish, my lord," I replied, and bowing to Razul, I left the room.

      It was not a long walk to my rooms, and so I reached them quickly without any interruption. I checked my illusion - it was still in place. I fixed a spell so that I would be able to hold the illusion while I slept. Exhausted from the day's events, I had climbed under the covers and shut my eyes when -

      BANG! BANG! BANG!

      In a flash I was up and at the door - living at the palace meant that you slept with one eye open. To my surprise, Prince Jazan leapt into the room and grabbed me. I stumbled backwards for a moment, and in that tiny split second I lost concentration over my magic. Jazan was babbling in fast, uncontrolled speech that I could barely hear or comprehend. I managed to get my thoughts under control again but it was too late - the damage had been done.

     *

      The Kyrii blinked in confusion. No, it was still there - a great city with walls made of yellow stone, standing majestically in the middle of the desert. He yelled aloud and his unit commander came running. His unit commander looked up at the city, eyes wide in disbelief. Then something happened that made them both stare in total astonishment.

      The great walled city had disappeared.

To be continued…