Council of War

It wasn't until the following day that all the guests of the elves convened to discuss their formal battle strategy.

Because the elves were going to have no part in the war (other than the three who had volunteered themselves), King Ithel thought it best that he not intrude. Queen Lanassa had still wanted to give her opinion on the battle, but when she was reminded of the fact that Colvyr would soon be heading home, Lanassa quietly excused herself to leave the others to their work.

King Ithel had lent them the massive War Room contained within the palace. It alone could have housed a party fit for royalty, but due to protocol, the immense space would have needed to be renamed to be used for such a purpose. As such, it had been empty since the last time Aurora had used it for Cafer's war.

Around the large rectangular table sat two abominations, two Guardians, one councilwoman, three additional royals, one general, one personal guard, one doctor, one tutor, one boy and his elder sister, two elves, one halfling and one still-exhausted fairy. Oh, and a snoozing kitsune. The number seemed quite large, but in comparison to the enemy they faced, it felt very small indeed.

"Assuming we do not get reinforcements from the south, do we conceivably have enough forces take on Taran with what we have?" Aurora looked down at a map of the landscape. The area at the lake and the spot where the Imperial forces were camping were both marked out with tiny figurines.

Alaron stroked his chin. "Based on the numbers His Majesty gave me...it does not seem possible to complete the task on brute strength alone. Those creatures are just too strong."

"But you managed to hold off many of them with just you, Renat, Mairwen and Eira," Devrim pointed out, "So it is doable."

"We didn't use brute strength, we used our weapons, our wits and a bit of trickery." Alaron's eyes flashed on the last part. Deception had always been one of his specialties.

"Same for when Oblivion was besieged. If not for the tools which Renat left us to defend the walls, we would have been overrun that first night with no hope of escape." Devrim counted his blessings once again. If only they had had a few more tricks, perhaps Junayd and the others would not have turned into abominations.

Gela nodded, "When the human side goes, only instincts remain. Animals just don't have the same capacities we do for logical thought."

Foxie stirred from her sleep and gave a low growl. The room became noticeably chillier.

"Non-magical animals that is. Magical ones are of course quite intelligent." The bear-man reached up and petted the little white fox. She seemed content with his explanation and went back to her slumber, looking like little more than a scarf around Gela's neck.

"Then the question becomes: do we try to rile them up into going feral or try to spring the trap before they have the chance to lose their mind," Aurora was more thinking aloud than making suggestions. The more they talked the more she realized that the others in the room had far more expertise than her with what to expect.

"I do not think the latter will work. They will smell us coming a mile away. There is just no way to hide that many human's scents. Mask it, maybe...but not truly hide." Even now, Renat could identify each being in the room even with his eyes closed. If he could do it, Taran's forces could as well.

"If I may, Your Majesty," Eliana's voice came from between her brother and his tutor.

"Everyone is welcome to speak here." Aurora smiled at the woman. Because she had the Council to help guide her at home, she did not see any distinction between commoner and royal when it came to listening to advice.

"The best option would be to separate the poisoned magic from the abominations. If they don't have access to the power, then that levels the field considerably. From what all of you have said, most of these abominations are not trained fighters. I doubt they even have enough weapons to go around. Without their claws, fangs and ability to infect regular humans..." Eliana looked to the Emperor for confirmation.

"They would be forced to surrender or die." Devrim nodded slowly. He had noticed the creatures' clumsy fighting. Before going feral, many tried to awkwardly handle a sword or claw at the imperial troops. It was their overwhelming strength and inner predatory nature that made them truly dangerous.

"Do you know of a way to do that?" Mairwen could not hide the hope in her voice. Dania had made the same statement about separating the human from the tainted magic. Yet the younger sister had not discovered a solution to the problem. Perhaps the elder had had more luck.

Eliana hesitated. "There was something very curious in Dania's notes. She talked about how all the magical water, no matter how far apart, always seemed like it was attracted to other parts of it in the room. And using it, she could always tell which way was north. Almost as if it was all connected."

"It is indeed all connected. There is a bond in the magic which also runs through magical creatures. All the magical water feels the pull of the great waterfall which descends from the Mystic Spires." Alvar nodded then paused, surprised by all the curious glances his way. "I am not just a handsome face. I did learn a thing or two in school you know...."

Eliana gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you for confirming those suspicions. After my conversations with both Gela and Prince Renat this morning, I am inclined to believe that connection exists within the elixir as well."

"Are you saying that if we can cut off the magic to part of the elixir, it should cause the rest to be disconnected as well?" Aurora could almost see the line of thought the other woman was following. It would have to be different than the mere healing that she, Nanny, Hanna and even Mairwen had undergone.

"I am saying if we somehow can counteract the magic in the elixir, it will make a chain reaction for all the abominations. It's just a theory though. I have no proof." Eliana wished she had more information and time to tease out her thoughts. But time was not a luxury they had.

"Overwhelming a system which is powering so many sounds very dangerous." Nurlan spoke as he stroked his chin. He recalled the pulse of light which had led to Alaron's death. Would they need something even bigger to create such a feat?

"It is. And there is a catch. I am not sure how intertwined the human's being and the elixir are. It is very possible that by ending magic in the elixir by overwhelming it, we may also inadvertently kill those who are being held in its power." Eliana's words led to a profound silence in the room.

While those who had willingly chosen to take the poison and fight against the crown had brought their demise upon themselves, there were many who had unwillingly been infected which would suffer the same fate. Two of those people were in the room.

After a few tense moments, Renat cleared his throat. "I can't speak for Gela, but for me it is a risk worth taking." Mairwen opened her mouth to argue, but her husband held up his paw. "My life is not worth hundreds of soldiers."

"Nor is mine," Gela agreed.

"I am sure those who are with Junayd would agree, but it is currently not a risk I am willing to take. Even if we knew how to do it, I think it would have to be our last resort. Let's explore our other options first." The Empress dismissed the thought for now.

"What if we use their weakness against them?" Jaymes pipped in.

"That is what we are trying to do," his tutor tried to quiet him.

"Let him speak," Aurora looked at the boy.

Jaymes faltered and looked down at his hands. Two authorities in his life did not agree on his role. Renat could see the struggle. "I believe Jaymes and I are having similar thoughts. Do you mean using their hypersensitive smell and hearing to confuse them. I know thanks to Eliana that the lizards are not fond of garlic."

The boy's face lit up. "Yes! And they hate cold! I heard them say so more than once."

"I'm on it!" Reyan shrunk to a speck of light an disappeared. The others were confused by his sudden disappearance but were used to his eccentricities. They continued the meeting like nothing had happened.

"With a bit of experimentation, I'm sure we could come up with some similar weaknesses for the wolves." Renat suddenly began to feel useful. "I submit myself for such trials if it is alright with Your Majesties."

Both Aurora and Devrim seemed quite pleased with a plan that did not involve accidentally murdering innocent people. They whispered to one another for a moment and then to Brinn, who nodded.

"Very well. Mairwen, Eliana, Gela and Brinn will accompany Renat and Jaymes for these experiments. You may go as well if you desire, Frode." Aurora left the final say up to the tutor.

Frode had not signed up for any of this. So there was no reason to force him to do what was obviously out of his skill set.

"I'll stay with Jaymes," he agreed.

The Empress waved her hand in recognition. "Understood. The rest of us will press forward with a battle plan. Reinforcements or no reinforcements, we will have to battle. And soon:"