Leon’s ark sped southward, putting ever more distance behind him and Occulara. They moved slowly since with the extra people on board, the ark was a little overloaded, but everyone made do as best as they could. Alongside them flew half a dozen Ilian arks escorting them out of the Empire. They’d peel off once Leon’s ark reached the border and began flying over the Kyron Steppes, but for now, Leon was content to know that they were about as secure as they could be.
While he knew that returning to his base of power was the best option, there was a not-insignificant part of him that still felt like he was running away. Sunlit hadn’t even made too many overtly hostile moves against him. Calling for his arrest and making a claim upon Heaven’s Eye was certainly contrary to his interests, but with how the man had been acting, Leon thought it was at least possible that he’d just been trying to try flex on the partnership that had blossomed between Heaven’s Eye and the Ilian and Sacred Golden Empires.
How far Sunlit was willing to go, however, Leon wasn’t going to risk. He had endured his home being attacked by a tenth-tier mage once, and he wasn’t keen on a repeat performance, even with the support of the Lord Protector and the Grand Druid. He had no idea what Sunlit’s true capabilities were, and even if his allies could defeat Sunlit, Leon knew that there would be many casualties as a consequence. And that was only to deal with the Emperor himself, let alone his Empire. It wasn’t like killing an Emperor would be something easily forgotten, not to mention he doubted anyone wanted to establish a precedent that arrogance and disrespect were crimes worthy of death.
‘No, better to leave,’ Leon repeated to himself. ‘This is a problem better dealt with from a position of strength. I need to get home and get to work on getting stronger…’
His first order of business as soon as they made it back to Stormhollow was to aid Tikos in getting the Hesperidic Apple orchard back into place. Tenth-tier couldn’t wait.
As they sped southwest to avoid the Sunlit Empire, Leon felt his comm lotus pulsing with magic, telling him that someone was trying to get in touch. He made his way to the small bedroom he was sharing with his ladies, which was the only private room he had on the ark given how overloaded it was.
When he answered the call, he found himself staring at the projected image of the Jaguar.
“Leon,” the Jaguar said in greeting.
“Jaguar,” Leon replied. “Has something happened in the past couple days?” He’d made sure to contact Kataigida informing them of the signed truce and his early return, so he hadn’t been expecting any additional updates for at least another day, and especially not from the Jaguar. He’d put the man in charge of all military forces to the west of Kataigida, giving him control of most of Kataigida’s armies and fleets. As far he knew, the Jaguar had been spending his time on the Sword where he could better coordinate the armies there.
“Some worrying reports from the region across the straits,” the Jaguar said, referring to the Pegasi States, which Leon would have to fly over to return to Kataigida.
“What kind of reports?”
“Hostile forces are thinning out from their staging points. Not terrible by itself, but a new staging point has appeared further inland. This morning, four war arks and four more transport arks departed this staging point, heading northwest.”
Leon immediately frowned deeply as his heart skipped a beat. “Sunlit arks?” he asked.
“We can’t say for certain,” the Jaguar admitted, “but who else has been here in the south?”
Leon nodded, knowing he was right. The Sunlit Empire had been doing the heavy lifting for the Imperials since the war went hot again with the sack of Argos and the seizing of the Sword.
“What forces do we have in reserve that might be able to pursue?” Leon hurriedly asked as he projected his magic senses and called for his highest-ranking subordinates on the ark to assemble just outside his bedroom.
“Five war arks and a flying war beast battalion,” the Jaguar replied.
“Send them immediately,” Leon ordered.
“Such a force will not be able to move quietly.”
“Send them anyway. Those arks are moving to intercept us, and we can’t fight that kind of firepower. Send reinforcements.” The four war arks his large number of ninth-tier mages might’ve been able to fight, but he had no idea who might be on those transport arks. It was unlikely that they didn’t have at least a couple of mages powerful enough to interdict anything that could threaten the lightly-armored arks.
Leon continued, “After entering the Steppes, we’ll be flying alone. Our best defense was not being seen. Our stealth enchantments won’t be enough to hide from eight arks that will be on the lookout for us. Get moving.”
“By your word, Your Majesty,” the Jaguar said with excessive formality, showing just how seriously he was taking Leon’s order.
“Keep me up-to-date,” Leon ordered. It would be some time before they reached the Kyron Steppes, so they’d be able to prepare for a confrontation or turn around.
With that, he and the Jaguar ended the call, and Leon exited his bedroom to find his family, retainers, Exallos, and Sar all stuffed into his suite’s small living room.
“We have a problem…” Leon said as he brought them up to speed on what the Jaguar had just relayed.
“Has the Sunlit Emperor moved?” Valeria immediately asked as Leon finished his explanation.
“I haven’t checked, yet,” Leon replied.
“I’ll take care of that,” Cassandra said as she slipped past Leon while pulling out her own comm lotus. Leon guessed she was about to call the Grand Druid.
“How likely are they to spot us?” Marcus immediately asked.
“We have some stealth capabilities, but we can’t turn invisible,” Leon replied. “It’ll be hard to remotely detect us, but they can just use their eyes. If all of these arks are paying attention, it’ll be very hard for us to slip past into the Pegasi States.”
Anzu immediately suggested, “Let’s ditch the ark, then. We don’t need it, Brother, all of us on board can fly.” The griffin-in-human-form shifted in place with some anticipation. Leon knew he didn’t like being confined for so long within the even-more cramped ark, but he wasn’t sure that was the best idea.
“We are moving slowly with all the added weight,” Marcus said. “There’s some value to ditching it.”
“This is one of the most advanced arks produced by the Ten Tribes,” Exallos responded rather dispassionately, as if he were defending the ark out of obligation. “Abandoning it to be recovered by potential enemies is unconscionable.”
“It makes us a target,” Gaius argued. “This is not an Imperial ark, nor is Heaven’s Eye’s. If we’re seen, it’ll be obvious that we’re with the Ten Tribes.”
“It’s also our most powerful weapons platform,” Sar reminded everyone. “This ark has powerful weapons that we can use against our adversaries.”
Leon knew that the ark had six of the Ten Tribes’ most powerful Flame Lances installed. Not as powerful as they could’ve been with integrated thunder wood, but still at least on par with what the Sunlit Empire had to have, if not better. If they were going to be seen anyway, he could see the argument in not ditching their most powerful weapons platform.
“Do we need it, though?” Marcus asked the room. “How many people are on board that are weaker than sixth-tier? We can all fly, we can all fight. We can hide the ark somewhere recoverable and come back for it later. The best way to survive any planned ambush is not to be ambushed at all, so let’s ditch the ark and move as a smaller group. It might be slower and more tiring, but it’ll increase our chances of not being seen.”
Leon nodded, seeing the logic in that argument as well. His people, at least, could turn invisible if needed, though the same capability wasn’t shared by everyone on board. Slipping past prepared defenses wasn’t guaranteed. Besides, as he glanced at a very nervous-looking Elise standing next to him, he was well aware that there were people in the ark who weren’t well-trained in combat or stealth.
Elise met his gaze and gave him a shaky and not particularly confident smile. If she was trying to look confident, it only made her look more nervous, and he quickly took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“Is there any value in turning back?” Anshu asked. “There are other ways to get to where we’re going. We could go through the Indra Raj, for instance, and bypass the Pegasi States entirely.”
“That would be going well out of our way,” Marcus responded. He nodded to Red as he said, “We’d probably have to steer quite clear of the Wyvern’s Aeries to avoid any violence there, too. Then head south over the Endless Ocean and only turn eastward once we’re a good deal away from shore. That would add weeks to our travel time.”
“And risking an ambush is preferable?” Anshu pushed back.
“I’ve already ordered the Jaguar deployed,” Leon interjected. “I could always have him stand down—it’s only been a matter of minutes, anyway, but that’s not the point. We have potential reinforcements.”
“Do we have a good time frame on when they’ll get here?” Marcus asked. “What will happen if they get intercepted in the Pegasi States? Do we continue to wait?”
“Still waiting on how long it’ll be,” Leon replied. “I only just gave the order.”
Marcus frowned but nodded.
Leon sighed. “Look. I’m… not entirely thrilled at leaving Occulara so quickly, though I still think it was the best decision. If Sunlit is moving assets to try and cut us off, then I’m… willing to try and fight, if it comes to that. Thoughts?”
“We only know what has been seen by the Jaguar,” Marcus immediately replied. “We don’t know if Sunlit himself will be taking part. We don’t know if any assets within the Sunlit Empire are being deployed. We’ll be passing close to the border even on our current route, so those assets could be significant. Making a stand somewhere without guaranteed reinforcements would be a bad idea. I would highly recommend against making any kind of stand.”
Leon grimaced at his thought being immediately countered.
“Running is for the weak,” Red declared. “Let us stand and fight. Show them the folly of standing against us. We have the numbers and the power to do so. Let us do so.”
“I like your confidence,” Leon softly replied. However, he felt Elise’s hand start trembling, and he knew that he couldn’t put anyone—let alone her—in that kind of danger on a whim. “Battles aren’t won on confidence alone, though…”
“I’m inclined to argue against facing this force head-on,” Exallos said. “We are not favored to win.”
Leon glanced around the room and saw that most people appeared to agree. Those who agreed with Red were in the clear minority.
“Fine, fine,” Leon said. “We won’t go looking for them. I’ll also get in touch with the Lord Protector and see if we can extend our escort. We still have a little more than a day until we reach the border before we commit to any course of action. So, let’s get more information and see what we can do.”
Everyone acknowledged him, and Leon headed back into his bedroom to get more information. He was already regretting not trying to deal with Sunlit in another manner.
---
Leon watched as the Ilian arks peeled off, their job escorting his people at an end. They’d reached the border and were now heading into the Kyron Steppes, so the escort’s job was finished. Unfortunately, Leon hadn’t been able to get them to stick around longer, but the Lord Protector was at least able to arrange for them to stay by the border for a few more days just in case Leon had to turn around and return.
As for his Tribal reinforcements, the Jaguar had gotten the five arks moving, but the flying war beast battalion was ordered to remain on the Sword. The Jaguar had argued, and Leon had agreed, that moving that much force left the Sword too vulnerable and didn’t provide enough benefit to him to justify it. The arks would move much faster than the flying battalion, and Leon was placing a premium on speed.
What had him more concerned was that Sunlit apparently hadn’t left his palace in Occulara, there hadn’t been any signs of major military movements in his Empire, and the task force that the Jaguar had seen deployed was nowhere to be seen. Leon guessed they’d have been at least approaching the range of his magic senses by now, and yet he couldn’t see hide nor hair of any of them. It was almost as if they’d vanished somewhere within the Scorched Fields.
So, with great trepidation, Leon had given the go-ahead to continue on their journey and trust in the ark’s stealth systems to keep them safe. He hoped it would be enough. They still had a couple days of flying to reach airspace controlled by the Ten Tribes, and he could already tell those were going to be tension-filled days. He already intended to refrain from sleep and monitor their surroundings as closely as he could until they were safe.
With a sigh, he settled into a seat in the ark’s main room and projected his magic senses. He got comfortable and made peace with the idea that he wasn’t going to leave that seat for more than forty hours…
---
It didn’t even take a day for them to leave the Kyron Steppes and cross into the airspace of the Ivory Plains, the wide salt flats where a great inland sea had once been. Leon remained as vigilant as he could, but there hadn’t been much to see in the Kyron Steppes, let alone in the flat wastes of the spectacularly flat salt flats.
He noticed himself growing a little complacent with his vigil, but he always shook himself out of it whenever he realized how lax he was getting. But so far, he hadn’t yet been rewarded for his attention. Even the Steppes were more lively than the salt flats given the warlike nature of the nomads who called that great grassland home.
At the very least, he knew that it wouldn’t be too much longer until they linked up with their reinforcements. He could see them in the distance, rapidly closing in as they sped towards each other.
But as they cut through the air above the salt flats, Leon suddenly picked up on a flash of magic power. Before his eyes could even widen in surprise, the ark shuddered as something slammed into its rear with tremendous force.
An alarm immediately began blaring and the ark’s captain's voice shouted throughout the vessel, “All hands, brace for maneuvers!”
The ark’s movements became more and more staggered as the pilots fought to retain control, and outside, Leon saw an ark appear as if from nowhere.
‘Stealth,’ he thought with no small amount of anger at both himself and the situation. It was a relatively small craft, easily hidden, about large enough for a crew of three or four. It cut through the air like the sharpest of blades, a single Imperial Lance installed on its nose.
Two more flashes of power lit up his magic senses as additional arks appeared from nowhere, their Lances having already fired. A moment later, the molten metal they’d fired hit Leon’s ark, closer to the engines, and they began to lose altitude.
“We’re losing power to the engines!” the captain called out. “Brace for a rough landing!”
“Three arks!” Leon shouted as just about everyone in the ark donned their armor and armed themselves. “Stealth enchantments, too, so who knows what else may be out there!”
As if on cue, the salt flats far below them opened up like the jaws of some eldritch horror and spat out the eight arks that the Jaguar had called ahead about. The four war arks were sleeker and sped toward Leon’s ark as it descended. The four other arks remained closer to the ground as enormous hatches on the sides opened, allowing hundreds of Sunlit warriors to spill out into the sky.
Leon restrained the urge to shout in frustration and to castigate himself for getting everyone into this situation. There’d be time enough for that later, but for now, they had to deal with this. He channeled his darkness magic and began issuing orders. His people moved toward the ark’s main and emergency doors while the crew put his orders into action.
The ark was going down, they weren’t going to keep it in the air after taking those three hits. However, they still had power for other systems, and if the ark hit the ground lightly enough, they’d have some options.
‘We also have options before we hit the ground…’ Leon noted as the ark began to turn. This destabilized their descent a bit, but it brought the Lances on the side of the ark into play.
Three Lances spat their deadly payloads, enormous fireballs around cores of boiling iron were launched at a spectacular speed. The war arks were already starting to move as Leon’s ark brought its Lances into play, but they didn’t move fast enough; two of the Lance shots hit true, penetrating straight through the front plates of two war arks like the thin armor wasn’t even there. The arks promptly exploded, the tremendous amount of magic required to operate the things creating multicolored fireballs and vaporizing most of the arks’ interiors, including their unfortunate occupants.
At the same time, the three Lances on the other side of the ark fired, but only one of the stealth arks was hit. That one ark, however, was hit in the side and had a hole punched clean through it. Its nose immediately tiled forward and the vessel plummeted toward the ground, a stream of fire more than a hundred feet long pouring from the hole.
The remaining four arks then fired their Lances, but a barrier of white light sprang into place around Leon’s ark, and the Lance shots splashed harmlessly across its surface. Leon could hardly begin to guess at the power requirements of such a shield, but he was glad it was still operational.
But that was all they had time for as the ark fell past the lower war arks, the captain barely managing to pull it back up before it slammed into the salt flats and slid across the ground for thousands of feet, carving a great trench into Aeterna.
Leon and his people took the impact as well as they could. They were all strong mages and all were armored, but a few people weren’t braced well enough and went flying as the ark bit the earth.
When they finally slid to a stop, however, Leon glanced around, the darkened lights in the main living space not bothering him at all, and he was pleased to see that just about everyone had made it. A couple of his Tempest Knights and the weaker Tribesmen were on the ground, but as far as he could tell, no one was dead.
He quickly revised that estimate as he checked on the ark’s crew and noted that a couple of the Lance operators, as well as one of the bridge crew, had died in the impact. There were also more injuries among the crew, who were mostly in outer compartments when the ark fell.
As he was checking in on everyone, another flash of power caught his attention from outside. Another ark had appeared, this one slightly larger and more ornate than the other stealth arks. A door on its underbelly opened and, with a flash of lightning that made the sun look dim and a crash of thunder that shook the earth, the Sunlit Emperor burst forth into the sky above Leon’s crashed ark.
“Leon Raime!” Sunlit roared, an infuriatingly smug smile of triumph on his punchable face. “You had your chance to come with me willingly! Now I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist that you surrender yourself to me at once!”
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