O: 34

  Katuo hurried over at a run. “You two! I just received Master’s summons,” she panted. “It came through omi’Oa.”

  Ramii sprang to his feet. “Now? In the middle of this? Then he must have a way to deal with the enemy.”

  The tight, thoughtful furrow on Hudyn’s brow eased at once. “If that’s true—thank heaven. We’re outmatched by far. I’ve been worried sick.”

  “I think so too,” Katuo said. “Master didn’t say anything else. He only told me that all three of us are to return to Mount Lodom. Come on, let’s go!”

  Tiknahah had left the summit of Mount Lodom for a grove of b’diga trees halfway down the slope. When the three arrived, he was seated in a hollow of the trunk, his eyes half-closed.

  Ramii thought, In a crisis like this, how can Master sit so calmly? Why did he not summon us sooner? Why call us only now, when everything is upon us? Unless… he has only just found a way.

  As if he had heard the thought itself, Tiknahah opened his eyes and said,

  ‘OaaKiteh ~ Children, a mind in turmoil cannot serve you. Go to those three hollows over there, and sit as you always do.’

  They obeyed, though reluctantly. Inside the hollows they sat in silence, yet their minds would not be still. Even Katuo, who rarely wavered in her Yoagi training, could not settle. The Goyk army was about to press into the Holigeng Highlands. They wanted to return to the fight, instead of sitting here like this.

  “I beg your leave! I have to go!”

  Ramii sprang from the tree hollow, with Hudyn right on his heels.

  Katuo scrambled up and ran after them. “Ramii! Hudyn! Get back here!”

  Then, all at once, right before them, countless white strands shot up from the earth like an upside-down rainstorm. They surged to the treetops, then coiled and fused into one. A colossal monster took shape—one hundred limbs, one hundred heads. Those limbs lashed out, seized them all, and hoisted them into the air.

  The three couldn’t breathe. Their joints were pinned and wrenched, the pain unbearable. They thought they were about to die when Master’s voice suddenly rang inside their heads:

  ‘Return, or go to your death.’

  The limbs loosened. The three were released and dropped hard to the ground. They breathed with difficulty, dizzy and aching all over. Only after a while could they clamber to their feet. Their hotheadedness had drained away without their even noticing.

  The terrifying creature that had just seized them was the legendary O’Valonah. At present, no ownan could conjure a Floramina so mighty, save Oawgi Tiknahah alone.

  The three stumbled back to their tree hollows.

  At last, Master’s disciples were able to sit still. Their breathing gradually fell into a single rhythm, then steadied until it matched Master’s own. Three Yooni seeds in his hand drifted over and came to rest upon the crowns of their heads.

  Master’s Trueye and the stone at his chest flared with light at the same moment.

  The Yooni seeds atop their heads drifted down to the centers of their brows. From there, brilliant patterns blossomed, dense as leaf-veins, webbing from their faces through the rest of their bodies. They felt themselves beginning to vanish. There was no boundary between what lay within and what lay without. A torrent of breath cascaded onto their crowns. Filaments sprouted and lengthened from all over their skin, then fanned out to cover the three tree hollows and wrapped them into three pure-white cocoons.

  ~~~

  O: 35

  Beneath Mount Bazdien, the Warhost had assembled in full—from agud’Aga to agud’As, from the Aguds to the last of the warriors. Before them all, Voznugaid spoke in a ringing voice:

  ‘OaaKiteh ~ The Goyk are marching this way. They mean to destroy the Oawgiboni. They mean to seize this land for themselves ~ OaaKiteh.’

  The host answered like thunder: ‘OAAKITEH ~’

  Voznugaid raised the Arasok Staff high.

  ‘OaaRudidi ~ The enemy is immensely strong. Yet we have the earth beneath us, we have our woods, and we have the Mother’s Child to shelter us. This land holds lives that must be protected, and gratitude that must be repaid. We exist within Oaa, and Oaa exists within each of us ~ OaaRudidi.’

  ‘OAARUDIDI ~’

  Then he bellowed:

  ‘OaaLoarin ~ Brothers! Hold fast to your hearts. Fight with your very lives! ~ OaaLoarin.’

  ‘OAALOARIN ~’

  Voznugaid’s Trueye opened wide and flared red as flame, kindling resolve in all the other Trueyes. The entire host turned toward Oawgiboni. They lifted their faces, raised both hands to the sky, and cried out as one:

  ‘OAA ~ KEEP THE FAITH! STAND AS ONE! FOR ALL! ~ OAA.’

  ~~~

  O: 36

  At the northern edge of the Holigeng Highlands, the Goyk army had drawn up in neat formation. A thunderous blast rang out, and five green flames shot into the air. They blazed across the sky, arranging themselves into the sign of a four-pointed star.

  A colossal airship led the advance. Its underbelly hatches yawned open, and from them spilled a flood of aberrant ashspawn known as the Borrop. Each had an egg-like torso that exhaled greenish smoke through pores atop its head, while a long, slack trunk hung beneath. They poured into the heart of the Highlands and swarmed toward Mount Bazdien.

  Soon, the assault sprang from everywhere at once. From tree canopies and stone hollows, from clouds and floating isles, the Glooky came charging in on g’loor. The ashspawn blew apart into colossal spheres of fire, engulfing warriors who had scarcely finished driving their o’spears home.

  From the Borrop’s dangling trunks, green liquid drizzled down. It flared the instant it struck the ground, scorching everything in its path. Driven from their hiding places, the ownan troops began to fall back toward Mount Bazdien. Their advantage in terrain was shattered, and the ambush tactics they had drilled for so long had utterly failed.

  The Borrop swarm pressed on, scouring the march route clean with a sea of fire as they flew toward Oawgiboni. Behind them, the main Goyk host advanced in a slow, steady push.

  At the front, their might was on full display: a broad line of massive ashspawn known as the Kowlog. They raised savage pincers, more than capable of severing or crushing any ownan warrior who stood in their way. Just behind came the Green Arm Legion, poised to loose a volley. On both flanks, veteran Twin Hand detachments provided cover. Crossbowmen and swordsmen rode different mounts, each a three-legged ashspawn bred for speed and sure footing on the hills.

  Directly overhead, three Zadden legions flew in parallel, covering the formations below. Their bellies sagged, scored by many vertical grooves. Bony wings rattled as they beat the air. Long heads ended in four sharp, elongated mandibles, opening and closing in a steady rhythm. This was the most terrifying arm of the Goyk military, and the one who commanded it was Marshal Goykimar.

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  ~~~

  The ownan warriors still held their positions, awaiting orders from agud’Aga and the agud’Agas. Voznugaid was caught in a cruel dilemma. He knew that if he gave the command for an all-out assault, they would be wiped out by the enemy’s overwhelming strength. As they stood helpless, groping for what to do next, a sound came rolling in, wave after wave.

  Thoom… Thoom… Thoom…

  From behind a line of hills to the east, glimmers of blue began to show. Then jagged masses of crystal rock came into view. A herd of colossal beasts was advancing, their heavy footfalls making the ground tremble. Upon the back of the lead beast stood Master Tiknahah, his Trueye blazing.

  On Mount Lodom, Master Tiknahah awakened the Trueye in Ramii, Hudyn, and Katuo. Not long after, they tore free of their cocoons and stepped out of the b’diga tree hollow. At once, heat rushed through their bodies. A surge of vitality, like a waterfall, poured from the crown of their heads down their spines, then flooded every fiber of flesh. Master and disciples together led the D’lomox herd onto the battlefield.

  The O’Mandrill—larger now by far—raced to Skichip and the Kyladin gathered at the foot of the mountain. Astride its back stood Hudyn. He raised his o’spear high and roared like thunder:

  ‘ATTACK! SPARE NO FOE, OR YOU DIE!’

  The warriors snapped to their senses. Skichip and the Guardclans, mounted on their k’lax, surged out to join Hudyn’s charge. They shouted as one:

  ‘ATTACK! SPARE NO FOE, OR YOU DIE! ATTACK! SPARE NO FOE, OR YOU DIE!’

  From behind the D’lomox herd, Ramii’s O’Lynx and Katuo’s s’goarok streaked ahead. Their proud wings swept past Voznugaid and the Glooky lying in wait. Voznugaid’s Trueye blazed to life. He thrust his staff overhead and cried:

  “BROTHERS! FULL ASSAULT!”

  All the Guardclans on g’loor burst from hiding, joining the line with agud’Aga and the two henan warriors. They plunged straight into the Goyk host in the air.

  Marshal Goykimar ordered his legions to break formation into smaller units and spread into rings. They spewed fire in unison, and ownan riders and mounts fell burning by the score. Ramii drove his O’Lynx higher, then began an orO’ chant. The o’spear in his left hand flowed and reshaped into an o’bow, while the Yooni seed in his right sprouted into an arrow. He loosed at once and drove it clean through a Zadden’s head.

  He shouted, “Scatter! Use bows!” and dropped another with the next shot. “BOWS AND ARROWS!”

  Katuo heard him and echoed the cry. “BOWS AND ARROWS!”

  The s’goarok flashed across the battlefield at peerless speed, and Katuo, longbow lifted high, kept calling out the word. The Glooky switched weapons. They wheeled above and below the enemy’s rings, avoiding close, direct engagement. The longbow’s range exceeded the reach of flame, and the battle swung back in their favor. Goykimar’s legions fell into disorder. Zadden after Zadden was shot down.

  The crossbowmen below faltered as both sides mingled and overlapped. Prince G’Kazdyn commanded the Green Arm Legion. Seeing their hesitation, G’Kazdyn flew into a rage and fired his crossbow wildly into the air. He screamed:

  “FIRE! KEEP FIRING! I DON’T CARE WHO YOU HIT!”

  Sparks streaked into the heavens by the thousands.

  “CLIMB HIGHER!” Voznugaid shouted. “EVERYONE, SPREAD OUT!”

  The Zadden, huge and crowded together, dropped in droves. The g’loor, smaller and more agile, were struck far less often. Any Glooky who lost a mount rose again on O’Ky wings.

  Down below, the D’lomox herd had closed on the enemy’s flank. Wherever their crystal arms swept, the ranks broke apart. Goyk weapons meant nothing against such adamant beasts. The Kowlog ashspawn charged in, only to have their pincers snapped off and their skulls smashed in an instant. Some D’lomox slammed into the bases of towering stone pillars and snapped them. The pillars crashed down, crushing soldiers who never had a chance to run.

  ‘O’Ziraka ~ makaboni.’ Skichip called.

  Before him rose a great beast, its foremost mandibles like twin scythes. The Floraminas of the other Ogoses were conjured as well. They lunged into the Twin Hand lines and carved gaps through the formation.

  The Kyladin Guardclans had already formed into a wedge, led by Hudyn and Skichip, driving the point into the breaches the Floraminas had opened. They aimed for the enemy’s center, where the command core was shielded by the Green Arm Legion.

  “Vermin!” Hudyn bellowed. “Sweep them away! Spare no foe, or you die!”

  ~~~

  O: 37

  Hope flickered in the ownan’s eyes. Victory was in sight, close at hand.

  But the Goyk still held a reserve piece, one that had not yet shown itself.

  From the cloud layers above, a radiant presence swooped down and settled upon the burning body of the Oawgiboni. From its mouth poured a dreadful torrent of green fire, searing what remained.

  At the summit of Mount Bazdien, the being called A’Hazowrat spread its colossal wings and loosed a supernatural roar. Towering upon its back stood Marshal Goykimar. With icy calm, he leveled the point of his sword at the D’lomox herd.

  A’Hazorat beat its wings and rose. It banked, then plunged like a whirlwind, spearing through the Glooky host. G’loor and rider alike were scorched in scores. The s’goarok lurched and began to fall, one wing ablaze.

  At that moment, the O’Lynx shot in and clamped its jaws around the s’goarok’s neck. Ramii cast an o’whip, snared Katuo, and hauled them both clear of the rain of sparks rising from below.

  ‘FORWARD!’ Lyndorin cried. ‘Protect Katuo! Protect Ramii!’

  She and the others swept in, blocking the Zadden as they tried to pursue. Under that cover, Ramii managed to get Katuo and the s’goarok into a sheltered rock hollow, hidden within the mountain cleft. He checked to be sure no enemy still clung to their trail, then eased Katuo down with her back against the stone.

  Katuo held back the burning pain in her skin and kept her voice even, “It’s only a light wound. The s’goarok slipped through just in time.”

  Ramii helped her peel the scorched greave from her calf. A sudden sound came from outside the rock hollow, and he whipped his head around.

  ‘It’s me,’ Lyndorin whispered. ‘How is she?’

  ‘Lyndorin, I’m well enough. Save the s’goarok first, please,’ Katuo said. ‘Ramii, I can handle myself. Go outside and keep watch.’

  While Lyndorin went to check on the beast, Katuo took out a Yooni seed and a dried leaf, then treated her own injury.

  ~~~

  Wave after wave of A’Hazorat’s fire washed over the D’lomox. The living cores within them were baked into glowing charcoal. Shattered chunks of crystal broke loose and rained down upon the soldiers below. The Guardclans now found themselves squeezed from both sides by Twin Hand blocks of troops.

  It is over. Take the three henan to Ao’Tuatiweh. No matter the cost.

  Tiknahah’s voice sounded in everyone’s head. He had seen the outcome the moment A’Hazorat appeared.

  ‘Why?!’ Hudyn shouted. ‘I want to fight! I’m not going anywhere!’

  Hudyn refused to retreat. With no other choice, Skichip and the others worked together, casting o’whips to bind him tight. Skichip lashed Hudyn to his back and drove on through a narrow gap they had opened with their lives. Ownan warriors fell one after another to hold off the enemy’s pursuit.

  At the same time, Voznugaid and Lyndorin escorted Ramii and Katuo toward the foot of the mountain. After the last D’lomox was slain, Goykimar saw from afar a crowd gathering around them. He swept his blade, blazing with green light, at the cluster.

  A’Hazorat slammed its wings together, then flung them wide. A vortex of fire crashed down.

  I’m going to die. The thought flashed through Katuo’s mind. She grabbed Ramii. Somewhere, she heard Master’s call.

  At once, Tiknahah’s Floramina, O’Valonah, appeared and hurled itself before the annihilating strike.

  Tiknahah had already spent half his Yoa-force to awaken the Trueye in his three disciples. Even at full strength, he could never have withstood that mighty entity. With each passing moment, he grew weaker. A jet of green fire pierced O’Valonah’s burning body and struck him square in the chest.

  “MASTER!” Katuo screamed. “Ramii, he’s down!”

  They rushed forward, heaved Tiknahah onto the O’Lynx’s back, and fled.

  All three made it into a cave at the foot of Mount Bazdien. Hudyn arrived to find Katuo in tears, clutching their dying Master. He roared again, “Let me go! I have to fight! Untie me, damn it!”

  Skichip was about to gag him with a vine, but Voznugaid stopped him. He ordered Skichip to go deeper into Mount Bazdien and unseal the Zon’A. Then he turned to Hudyn and said:

  ‘OaaRudidi ~ Brothers of courage, I am deeply grateful. But hold on to your lives. Do not let Oawgi Tiknahah’s sacrifice be in vain.

  Hudyn, I know you are right. The ownan have been naive, and too soft before the enemy.’

  He took his staff in both hands.

  ‘O henan, pray receive the Arasok Staff, and the duty that comes with it. Bring it to Agud Burusok in Ao’Tuatiweh.’

  ‘I have no need of it!’ Hudyn raged. ‘I need no protection! I need to fight!’

  The o’vines binding Hudyn forked upward and covered his mouth.

  ‘Mmm… Mmm…’

  ‘Forgive this,’ Voznugaid said. Then he placed the Staff into Ramii’s hands.

  ‘Lyndorin,’ he ordered. ‘Take four with you. Get the henan and Master Tiknahah to the White Toad Hollow.’

  She looked at him, moved. ‘Agud’Aga… I will go at once.’

  Outside the cave mouth, Marshal Goykimar, Prince G’Kazdyn, and their soldiers had already arrived. As Ramii and Katuo turned back, Voznugaid’s Floramina barred their way. Two other Floraminas, called forth by two Ogoses, took shape as well. Lyndorin and the others bound the two without hesitation, hoisted them onto their shoulders, and ran.

  ‘No!’ ‘Let me stay…’ ‘Voznugaid…’ ‘Voznug…’ ‘Vozn…’ Their voices dwindled into silence.

  Voznugaid roared, ‘OAALOARIN, BY ALL OUR LIVES!'

  He and the remaining warriors charged into the enemy.

  The fighting inside the cave was hopelessly one-sided. The Goyk outnumbered them, and more kept pouring in. In the end, only Voznugaid remained, standing alone within the encirclement. He seized the Prince and held a crystal knife to his throat.

  In his final moments, an ownan’s compassion stayed his hand. He hesitated, just long enough for G’Kazdyn to wrench himself free.

  Goykimar did not miss the opening. He drove his black sword straight into agud’Aga Voznugaid’s heart.

  ~~~