James Islington - The Shadow Of What Was Lost

"The Boundary? The one up north?" Asha frowned, trying to remember what she knew of the far north. "Does that mean…."

"I don’t know." Elocien sighed. "These invaders - the Blind , as they’re being called now - are coming from the north. If Torin thought there was a problem with the Boundary - enough of a problem to risk sneaking into Desriel - then I suppose it’s possible they’re from Talan Gol. Some sort of… Andarran ancestor, maybe, descended from those who were trapped in the North when the Boundary was first created." He shrugged, glancing across at Laiman. "We’ll find out soon enough, anyway."

Asha frowned. "What do you mean?"

Elocien hesitated. "King Andras has decided to send the army out to meet the Blind. Nine thousand men, all told."

Asha stared at him in horror. “But you know what happens,” she said, a note of protest edging into her tone. “The invasion reaches Ilin Illan. Surely that means…..”

“A lot of those men may be going to their deaths. I know,” said Elocien. “This is why I had to tell Laiman exactly what was going on. The king wanted to send everyone , Asha. All fifteen thousand troops, leaving the city defended by only a handful of soldiers. My pleas were doing nothing, but Laiman got him down to nine thousand.”

“It’s still many more than we wanted,” added Laiman quietly, “but it was the best I could do. Given the circumstances.”

“The circumstances?” repeated Asha.

Elocien glanced at Laiman, who gave him a brief nod.

“My brother is acting… irrationally,” said Elocien. “We’ve been noticing small things for weeks, but since war was officially declared it seems to have become much worse. Much worse. He rants against the Gifted, but is perfectly content to have Dras Lothlar as one of his closest advisors. He has started refusing to see all but his most trusted lords, advisors and servants. Karaliene came home this morning after being away for months, but he’s not even changing his schedule to see her. I’ve never seen him do that before.” From the duke’s tone, he was genuinely worried. “We know something is wrong, but no-one is in a position to find out what.”

“What about the Assembly?” asked Asha. "Can’t they step in?"

“Andarra is at war, so the Assembly has been dissolved until further notice.” Laiman’s tone was calm but Asha could see the concern in his eyes, too. “It was announced yesterday. His Majesty has absolute control over the country until the Blind are defeated. And he insisted on sending the troops. At the urgings of Dras Lothlar, I might add,” he said, unable to repress a scowl.

The Northwarden leaned forward. “Nine thousand is more than we should be sending, but… there are other things to consider. We have people, thousands of people, outside the city in the path of the Blind. Those troops will give them a chance to escape. And even if our soldiers don’t stop the invasion, we don’t know what impact they will have. Sending them may weaken the enemy enough that we will be able to defeat them once they breach the city. We could gain valuable intelligence on who they are, what they want, and how they fight."

Asha processed what Elocien had told her for a few seconds, then gave a reluctant nod. "I hadn’t thought of that."

Elocien’s tone became milder. “Just remember, Asha, that even if what the Augurs See is inevitable, it doesn’t mean we can just wait for it to happen. Fessi saw the Blind inside the city, yet we’re still going to man the Shields at Fedris Idri when they come. Why? Because even though good men will die, and those walls will eventually be overrun - who knows how many of the enemy will be killed in the process? The damage we do them there may end up making the difference between victory or defeat.” He sighed. “Regardless, all we can do is make preparations based on what we know. And I promise you, I am doing that.”

Asha inclined her head nervously; when Elocien put it in such a matter-of-fact way, the prospect of invaders inside the walls suddenly seemed more real. She’d been imagining that Fessi’s vision had meant that the Andarran soldiers would simply wait for the Blind inside Ilin Illan, make their stand from deep within the city. That what had been Seen was before any blood had been shed.

But she saw now that the duke was right - knowing they were going to lose the battle for the Shields didn’t mean they could, or even should, avoid it.

She took a deep breath, a little dazed. Elocien watched her sympathetically.

"How is everything else going?" he asked after a moment, his tone gentle. "Is the Shadraehin still pressing you for information?"

Asha grimaced, nodding. "They’re contacting me once every couple of days, now," she admitted. The messages were always essentially the same, and yet… in the last few, she had begun to sense more than a hint of impatience.

Elocien frowned as he watched her reaction. "If it becomes anything more than them just making contact, you let me know straight away," he said quietly. "I can’t see any reason for the Shadraehin to think you are anything but loyal - he must have known your getting information from me could take a while, months even. Still, there are measures we can take to protect you if you feel the need."

Asha gave him a grateful nod, silent for a moment. Then she stood, suddenly remembering the long line of impatient nobility outside. “I should let you get back to your meetings, but thank-you for letting me know about Torin," she said, managing a small smile. "It really is wonderful news. Do you know when he will be back?"

Elocien returned the smile, standing too. “If there are no complications…. soon, I would hope. I’ll keep you informed if I find out anything more specific." He sighed, glancing at Laiman. “But for now, it’s back to hearing every single House tell us why their interests should be protected against this invasion, I suppose.”

“Yes. Let the tedium resume,” agreed Laiman reluctantly. He nodded politely to Asha. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Ashalia. I’m sure our paths will cross again.”

The duke opened the door, and the murmuring from the gathered nobility outside stopped once more as Asha made her way past. She tried to stare straight ahead as she walked, but she still caught a couple of the half-disgusted, half-irritated looks she had already grown accustomed to.

Rubbing her forehead, she made her way back to her rooms. She only had a little time before her next lesson with Michal, but it was enough to catch up on some rest, and a chance to try and process everything she’d just been told.

Her bedroom was still dark; rising before sunrise meant she rarely thought to draw back the thick curtains. She left them closed and wearily lay down on her bed.

"Asha."

The male voice made her sit up straight in alarm.

"Who’s there?" she said, trying to make the fear in her voice a warning. She scrambled to light the lamp beside her bed, raising it with a shaking hand.

A figure shifted in the shadows at the corner of her room. There was a clinking sound, metal against metal. Then the intruder moved forward, into the light.

"It’s good to see you, Asha," said Davian softly.

Asha stared in disbelief. She had to be dreaming, hallucinating. The man standing in the corner of the room was Davian, but… he looked older.

Much older.

Gone was the skinny boy from Caladel. Muscles rippled beneath Davian’s light shirt, which was tattered and blood-stained. There was a strange scar, almost a tattoo, scored onto his neck - three wavy vertical lines, all within a circle. And his face not only had the old scar from Caladel but another one, worse, running across the other cheek just beneath his eye. It looked deep, painful, not fully healed. Week-old stubble made him look even more dishevelled.