Besieged

[Iriah Caitrak]

“No, no and no.”

Ira steadied herself as another one of the Cultists weapons slammed into the walls of The Keep. The sound of metal and wood grinding through and breaking away stone echoed through the air followed by the sounds of the dying crying out. Without saying a word, Izvilvin began to leave Ira and Bryn; she didn’t need to ask him where he was going she already knew. Those weapons needed to be stopped and if Izvilvin wanted to focus on taking them down he could, her and Bryn would focus on the defence of the city.

“To the Great Hall…”

She didn’t really know if that’s what the place was actually called, but she didn’t care. It was a giant hall where meetings were held as well as large celebrations and feasts. It would be the place where their feast would be held once they pushed back the Cultists and Harpies and perhaps eliminated them as a threat forever. Once they pushed them back, because there was no doubt in her mind that they would succeed, they had to, there was no way around it.

Hurrying down the hall, Ira jogged down the long staircase two at the time and then began making her way down the twisting halls of The Keep to get to The Great Hall. Already there were high-ranking officers standing in the hallway, pacing, waiting for instructions from someone, from anyone, they needed direction and they needed to know what they should be doing. Ira was no strategist and she had no experience with war, plenty of experience with fighting, but this was something completely different. Still, she could help and she could try. If only Messia was here though, she had the brains.

Ushering the officers into The Great Hall, Ira looked down at the map of Irrakam that was spread out on a large and long wooden table.

“Where are they coming in?”

She looked up and down at the five faces of the men and woman before her, one of whom she recognized, Captain Alikam, he was also the first to speak.

“We’ve spotted a large force of Cultist ships coming down the River Attireyi.”

He placed an armour hand on the map and traced their route with his finger.

Someone else spoke up next, “Our defences at the walls are useless, the Harpies can fly right over use and attack our men from the air. Right now there’s a large force of Harpies in The Outlander’s Quarters and a large force of Cultists trying to break through the main gates into the city itself.”

Ira nodded her head as she listened and looked over the map of Irrakam. What should she do?

“Alikam, you take your men and defend against the landing Cultists ships as best you can…”

He nodded his head, “Reinforcements from Corone have arrived, may I take them with me?”

Reinforcements from Corone…Letho? Did he really come?

“Yes…”

“What about the other places that need defending against?”

Ira closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She should not be doing this, there were more qualified people than her who knew the defences of the city and knew how to place troops along it’s walls to help it.

“We need a force to stay and defence The Keep itself. I need one force to go to the main gates and reinforce them there and also push them back as best they can should the gates be breached.” Ira turned to the woman warrior Bryn that Jya had asked to help during this situation, “What are you thinking?”

[The Valkyrie]

Bryn barely heard the plans being made. She should have been listening more closely, but even though she may be a battle hardened warrior, planning was never her forte. She preferred to rush in headlong and slaughter any who got in her way, cleaving a path to victory. Of course, when one is immortal that is fine and dandy, but now this was no longer an option. Her body was as vulnerable to injuries and death as any other in Fallien. No matter what blessings Jya had placed on her, no matter if she could feel her former mistress, Death, when she grew near, none of this mattered.

Ira spoke to her, and it took the Valkyrie a moment to respond. She shook herself from her inner thoughts and looked up at the Calerian woman, her green eyes cryptic.

"I will not leave the Keep while my daughter is here," she replied firmly, "I will defend her and the Jya to my death if need be. And surely Jya is the aim of both the Cultists and the Harpies. Ira, please stay here and help me in the defense of the Keep. All of the guards but ten can go to the Main Gate of the Keep and defend it, those ten which stay will aid us in ..."

She paused, looking down for a moment. A thought had occured to her, an idea, which while it may not work was certainly worth trying and could save Fallien if it did. Raising an eyebrow, she smiled hopefully at Ira.

"There is something which I want to try," she turned to the guards who awaited direction, "All but ten of you hasten to the gate to hold off the attackers, I'm certain there are militia men on the other side who will aid you in its defense. The ten who stay, spread yourself throughout the Keep, but at least 2 of you need to join the guards who currently protect Jya. She is the most important thing here.

"Yes my lady," the guards replied in unison, standing as one and bowing toward Bryn - obviously they had been told to heed her word as law by Jya, "Suravani go with you."

"And also with you," she intoned the common blessing before turning back to Ira.

"You know what I am, yes?" she asked.

[Iriah Caitrak]

A smirk spread over Ira’s face as the woman finally took control of the situation and began to give out her orders. Hopefully, Alikam was still going to help those on the river Attireyi, she couldn’t see why not. The thought of staying here, of being stuck in The Keep, even if it was to protect The Jya did not sit well in Ira’s stomach. She was a warrior, born, bred and trained to be one and she needed to get out there and fight. No matter what had happened to her last night, no matter that by the end of the day her blades may have spilled more blood than she cared to think about, she needed to defend her homeland.

How could she not stay here though?

Indecision was ripe in her mind and forgotten all in one second as the woman continued to talk.

Ira hesitated at the question. Really, she had no idea what she was or even what she was capable of. This was the first time she had met her though she had heard a few things about her from many of the people within The Keep. Jya herself had never told Ira anything about Bryn, but she did know that if Jya trusted her than she could. The woman had a commanding presence and Ira got the distinct feeling that she had done this many times before, if not in this particular way, war was nothing new to her.

“No…I have no idea what you are.”

She wished she could be of more help in this kind of situation, but clearly the more experience woman before her appeared to have some kind of idea up her sleeve. What, Ira did not know and she really hoped she was going to tell her sooner rather than later.

Watching the guards quickly pile out of the room and leave Bryn and her alone, Ira patiently waited for the woman to continue.