Chapter 36
Deployment
Wind whipped around Bianca's Ævatar as she pulled herself through the gate from Irontree to Romitu. The inclement weather in Romitu the gods had summoned up contrasted sharply with the warmer weather in Irontree. A great mist condensed as the moisture laden air rushed through. Great breezes were not uncommon when transitioning through a tactical gate. However, in a normal cycle, the gate remained open for only a short time. Closing and opening in sequence around the tri-form arch to serve the deployment. An Ævatar was far too large to simply double-time it thorough in a normal rotation. The entire three arches needed to be held open while she crawled, with guides on every side, through it.
Teleportation would have been far simpler. If she could cast simple spells through the Ævatar, doing complex ones was not much harder for one as skilled as Bianca. But, the more complex the spell, in general, the more mana needed. And since saving mana was the order of the day, she crawled.
“Your widest point is clear now,” said Lilly.
Bianca refocused her eyes and looked at Lilly's image reflected on the crystal. “I can't see a damn thing in this fog. Am I clear ahead? Can I just pull through?”
“Yes” said Lilly, after double checking with some others. “The fog also gives you cover from the gods. So we're not dispelling it.”
Bianca shook her head and dragged the Ævatar forward without resyncing her vision. “I'm sure we don't want to spare the mana either.”
Lilly raised her eyebrow, but checked herself from saying anything. “I'm working on integrating the command link with Ævatar operations.”
“That will save you playing switchboard,” said Bianca. Something was attracting her attention in the peripheral vision of the Ævatar. She concentrated and saw a trooper waving the 'clear of the gate' flag. She stopped crawling and moved to her haunches. The wind blew for a while longer as more troopers appeared carrying the larger gear she had stripped from the Ævatar before crawling through. They laid the sword, shield and halberd on the field within her reach then backed off. The wind died down.
“Bianca,” said a new voice.
She brought herself back to the presence of the operational sphere and saw Jesca's face appear on another crystal facet. “Jesca,” she said.
“The ground situation is this,” started Queen Jesca. “Water Bearer has set herself up on Oak Grove hill. Sky Father is mostly circling the Capitol and Palatial hills. Grave Keeper was last seen around Martial Hill, but no one knows for sure.”
Bianca nodded. “Probably best to ambush. They should be pretty obvious and my only ranged weapon is magic.”
Jesca shook her head. “Don't bet on that too much. Sky Father has been pretty flamboyant. But Water Bearer has been doing some ambushing herself and is not shy about ranged magic.”
Another crystal flickered into life. Coral's face appeared. “I would provoke rather than use ambush. Sky Father is a sucker for showy duels. Also, if you don't used ranged weapons his sense of honor will prevent him from doing so as well.”
“At least until I start winning,” said Bianca, skeptically.
“All of their worshipers are watching this,” said Coral wryly. “If they fight dirty, they'll have to cook up a lot of explanatory mythology.”
Bianca grunted. “I'll make due. Based on Lilly's reports from Devonshire I've ensorcelled the shield with a mana trap. If I spot any of their ranged magic before it hits I should be able to adsorb it. They'll work it out, but I should get the drop on them the first few times.”
“I'm flattered,” said Devonshire's voice. She appeared on another crystal, her hair being whipped in the breeze. She was, apparently, at Bianca's feet. “One thing first with that shield. It's blank. It needs to have Romitu's arms on it. I'll get that for you.”
The only way to do that quickly was, of course, with magic. But no one objected. “Yes,” said Bianca. “That would be fitting.”
“We don't know when Goatha will come through with the vortex magic,” said Jesca. “In many ways it will depend on you. The longer they have to set up and harden things, the longer and more reliably the magic will flow. Keep them occupied as long as you can. When your need becomes desperate, we'll give her the signal.”
“When the reserve is drained, that'll be the time,” said Bianca.
“Fair enough,” said Jesca. She bit her lip and Bianca could tell she was fingering her sword hilt. “I should say something supportive and Queenly right now, but you know the score.”
“I do,” said Bianca. “Consider it said.” She stood the Ævatar up and reached for her weapons. “Let me get clear of the gate, to the parade ground, and then banish the mist. I'd rather he came to me. I still don't know if I can do more than walk in this thing.”
Bianca returned her complete focus to the Ævatar. Her vision seemed limited, but she found when she looked hard in a certain direction, that things became clearer. She guessed it had the night vision of a cat. It was not something they had an opportunity to look into with much detail before.
Once she was assured of her weapons, she moved cautiously forward. From her memory of geography, the parade ground was clearly visible from the Capitol Hill. She didn't like being an easy target for Water Bearer, so she choose to stand in the far corner, where the main temple of Maritus would give her some screening.
The wind died down and the fog began to settle. It was still overcast though and a bit dark. She looked out at the surrounding rooftops as they became visible. The military quarter had a thin band of mid-class dwellings around it, surrounded by slums. It was originally set up during the infamous Summer of Riots many years before Bianca was born, during the first Empire. It had been the first occasion that an army of Romitu was brought within the city gates. They cleared the worst burnt out neighborhood and set up a full military camp there. The implicit threat had softened over the years, and the business of the station had brought work and prosperity to its immediate surrounds. But its implications were not lost on the rowdy neighborhoods nearby and although there was much agitation of late, there were no riots to compare with the historical ones.
The fog had pooled around her ankles by this point. She had a clear view of the sky and quickly spied Sky Father riding about above the city in his ice chariot. He thundered and roared and hurled sleet from his mace, seeking out anyone to defy him and, she presumed, proclaiming all who would not face him cowards. She started to wonder how and when she should attract his attention. Evidently she had been successful at keeping her power consumption low. It being in their nature, the gods were particularly attuned to mana flow. If Water Bearer had not seen or sensed her, it might be up to Sky Father to make the discovery, if he chose to take a break from posturing.
Her problem was solved for her. The remaining fog on the ground lit up brightly and unmistakably. Bianca was briefly puzzled, and then realized that she, herself, was the source of the light. Or, more specifically, the Romitu coat of arms on her shield was glowing like a beacon. Evidently when Devonshire had laid down the patterns to color it she had also put in a phrase to radiate light. She must have activated it from wherever she was providing support from. Bianca raised it and held it unmistakably high.
It did not take long for Sky Father to notice. He wheeled his chariot around and bore down in her direction. His angle of approach was not one of interception, and Bianca trusted Coral's judgment that he would refrain from unequal weapons. So she stood defiantly, and did not flinch. Lest he think she was a statue, though, she did slowly draw her sword and hold it ready.
The chariot passed overhead with a crack of thunder and a rain of sleet. It made a wide turn over the river Dubr and headed back, slowing. As he approached the parade ground his chariot began to dissolve into mist. The two points of his eyes blazed a fierce blue through it all and from that she could track his progress as he came down, and the mist retreated to a cloak about his shoulders and he stood before her.
“Does Romitu lack for men that
they send an automaton against me?” he bellowed.
Bianca lifted her sword, stepped forward a pace, and then executed a jerky salute with it.
Sky Father's eyes narrowed and he looked her up and down, taking a few steps one way, and a few the other. He tapped the head of his mace in his hand. “I see,” he said. “One of you hides inside. A woman,” he sneered contemptuously. “Do you fear for your skin so that you must cloak yourself in several feet of armor? You might have done as well to stay behind your castle walls. It would have done you as good.”
Bianca took another step forward. She found it hard to both concentrate on controlling the Ævatar and also watch his moves. His words were meaningless. She could tell by his stance he was just sounding her out. Seeing how quick her reactions were. Testing if his movement would make an opening for him to strike. She would have liked to surprise him and jump him first. But she didn't trust her control over the Ævatar.
He was good, she could tell that. Just the way he moved and reacted. She must seem amateurish in return. The Ævatar barely moved at all in response. She lacked the control to finesse the position. She was going to be meat for the slaughter if they didn't get more magic in time. With a pause she felt out and touched the reserve, judging roughly how much was there. It seemed a lot, but she had already seen how voraciously the Ævatar drank from that well.
Sky Father stopped and held his mace loosely. “You are pathetic,” he began. “Do you really intend to fight me? Bow down now and worship me as is right and I will spare you.”
Bianca shook the Ævatar's head. They had not hooked up speech. She wasn't even sure it could speak.
Sky Father rolled his eyes and went to rub his forehead with his hand. However, he quickly turned it into a lunge and leapt for her. The attack was on.