It was driving me
crazy, having to hang back over friendly territory, observing an
aerial assault on a cluster of buildings anchoring a defense
stubbornly blocking our advance toward the Palace. We had brought
the knowledge of war to this end of the world and we had taught our
students too well. These Taglians refused to yield even in the face
of sorcery and the Unknown Shadows.
Someone had pointed out that the troops of the City Battalions
were mainly Vehdna and Shadar. Both religions assure swift access
to rivers of wine and acres of eager virgins for the man who falls
in battle. Though originally that only meant warriors who perished
in the name of God.
I wondered what the Vehdna paradise was like for Sleepy.
We had not yet been able to identify her body. The corpses in
that passage had been burned that badly.
“Why don’t we go around these guys?” I
wondered. And the answer was, they would not let us. They had an
interlocking defense nicely laid out. The only way past was
through. Or over.
Over we could do.
Over we did go, twenty insanely courageous Children of the Dead
at a time, with a Tobo so tired he was cross-eyed doing the
lifting.
The Unknown Shadows supported their pal from every possible
direction, sometimes so blatantly that I could see them clearly
from where I hovered, doing nothing whatsoever that was useful to
the cause.
I had a wife in the camp outside the city. It had been a while
since I had gone to see how she was doing. That might be considered
doing something useful.
So I did leave my brethren to go visit my wife. While a fight
was going on. A fight that would, no doubt, be completely unique
amongst all the fights ever fought, so that somebody really should
be right there to record every nuance of its unique ebb and
flow.
Lady remained unchanged. She lurked halfway between life and
death. She kept talking to herself in her sleep. What I saw did not
inspire me with hope. What I heard only confused me. Mostly it was
incoherent. Such individual words as were recognizable did not fall
together at all sensibly.
A few minutes of that reminded me why I always resisted visiting
till I had forgotten the despair a visit inspired.
It was driving me
crazy, having to hang back over friendly territory, observing an
aerial assault on a cluster of buildings anchoring a defense
stubbornly blocking our advance toward the Palace. We had brought
the knowledge of war to this end of the world and we had taught our
students too well. These Taglians refused to yield even in the face
of sorcery and the Unknown Shadows.
Someone had pointed out that the troops of the City Battalions
were mainly Vehdna and Shadar. Both religions assure swift access
to rivers of wine and acres of eager virgins for the man who falls
in battle. Though originally that only meant warriors who perished
in the name of God.
I wondered what the Vehdna paradise was like for Sleepy.
We had not yet been able to identify her body. The corpses in
that passage had been burned that badly.
“Why don’t we go around these guys?” I
wondered. And the answer was, they would not let us. They had an
interlocking defense nicely laid out. The only way past was
through. Or over.
Over we could do.
Over we did go, twenty insanely courageous Children of the Dead
at a time, with a Tobo so tired he was cross-eyed doing the
lifting.
The Unknown Shadows supported their pal from every possible
direction, sometimes so blatantly that I could see them clearly
from where I hovered, doing nothing whatsoever that was useful to
the cause.
I had a wife in the camp outside the city. It had been a while
since I had gone to see how she was doing. That might be considered
doing something useful.
So I did leave my brethren to go visit my wife. While a fight
was going on. A fight that would, no doubt, be completely unique
amongst all the fights ever fought, so that somebody really should
be right there to record every nuance of its unique ebb and
flow.
Lady remained unchanged. She lurked halfway between life and
death. She kept talking to herself in her sleep. What I saw did not
inspire me with hope. What I heard only confused me. Mostly it was
incoherent. Such individual words as were recognizable did not fall
together at all sensibly.
A few minutes of that reminded me why I always resisted visiting
till I had forgotten the despair a visit inspired.