“It’s getting dark.” Samuel said to Elijah. “And the storm is beginning to move in.”

  “We should stay the night here a off with daybreak.”

  Lightning struck overhead.

  The woman in bck finally started to move.

  “Two of the five evacuated locations were raided retly.” Duchess Sara Daganhoff began with her report. “Although the false-fg with masking ourselves as Anars worked amongst the majority of the popution, anti-Anarchia rallies have started to appear in Southern Karaina. They cim to want justice for the Astangrad tral massacre. The local authorities have decred it a day of national m already.” Sara turhe page in her report as Arascus watched her.

  The woman had ged greatly from the excited girl who had rescued him. The whole anisation ged in fact, even down to the furniture. The war-room had been adorned with wooden furniture, sometimes, tradition was best, and the table the in middle had been repced with a rger one. A marvellous dispy had been installed into it, which could holographically project images into the air.

  The people around the table had ged too, grown. The cold bureaucratic suits were the only thing that remaihe same, Arascus had grown rather fond of the look, but the people within them were sharper, their eyes keeheir mouths spoke in more direct ways: quid fast, effit. It was the bae of an army.

  Duchess Daganhoff tio read. Her hair tied into a prim ponytail, her white shirt and ironed, her bck suit sleek in its trast. “Oe I would like to make is that the two locations we’ve lost were done by Divines. Here are the images from the men tasked with surveilnce of the sites.” Sara brought out two images to show to everyone around them.

  One was a barn, a simple wooden structure. Circur as was the fashion in the mountains of southern Karaina. Green grass, clear skies, it ractically picturesque where it not for the giant woman in silver armour in the middle of the image. She held aioner’s axe even taller than herself. The other image was of a building in some city tre; grand tall buildings, their roofs high-peaked and curling around the edges of the homes. This shot had a tall woman in golden armour, followed by two dozen police officers. This one held a golden spear.

  “Maisara and Fortia.” Sara tinued. “It was expected for some locations to be exposed because of Operation SkyStealer, so apart from the managerial time in acquiring new locations, losses are minimal. Every important dot was salvaged, I have firmed it myself and brought most back to headquarters.”

  “Good job.” Arascus ented. “And on recruitment?”

  “There are no ges to report. Last week’s predis have beeen. We’ve had an influx of people from Southern Karaina joining up after losing fidehat the gover could allow the Astangrad Massacre.” Good, cise, quick, to the point. Arascus smiled as the woman ined her head and sat back down. The war-room fell into silenly to be disturbed by the typing of a secretary nearby as she recorded the minutes of the meeting.

  “So onto the engineeriment. Ash.” Arascus turo the engineer. Proper dress was mandatory in the headquarters, but Mikhail pushed that about as far as he could. The suit had been exged for a heavy greatcoat and the man’s hair was beginning to thin out and turn grey. He stood up sheepishly, took a deep breath and paused for a moment. Experienced people would simply blurt out the bad news ahe ordeal over with, the ck of experieh failure was a crucial weakness in his team. Araseeded to set them harder tasks.

  “In regards to engineering, the ne project has stalled.” Mikhail looked around as if he reparing to rest his head oable to be executed with that axe in the picture of Maisara. Arascus remained silent, the man was already taking it hard enough, there was o ent. “Very simply, it is an impossibility.”

  This though, ushing it. “Impossibility?” Arascus leaned forwards from his throne and the two dozen people around the table held their breath. Ash nodded nervously and then spoke, his voice was on the edge of crag.

  “Frankly, yes. The first time a on is fired, a ped in live bat, there is always luck required. We ot…” He sighed and straightened his back. “I ot theorize a way to have a fool-proof design in the fashion you wish. A live-fire exercise is needed, but then that would reveal our advantage of surprise, without it, we simply hope all our theorizing is correct.”

  “So it ot be done?” Arascus’ voice growled like a waking bear.

  “No.” Ash replied and straightened his greatcoat. Arasodded and leaned back. This is why he had these meetings.

  “Very well, what about the phemselves, have you cut them all up?”

  “We kept the jets as requested, they’re still in usable dition.”

  “What about guns for shooting down aircraft?”

  “One of the new engineers had ao put timed fuses in the shell-gs. We’ve our first experiment with it yesterday, it works.” Arascus turo Iliyal Tremali. The elf sat there unmoving.

  “Looks like we should put you on recruiting more often then Iliyal.” The elf smiled and ined his head.

  “If it is to be so, then so be it.” He said, the elf would agree to anything, but that answer made it obvious he did not want the position of being a kidnapping-recruiter again. Arascus turned baikhail Ash.

  “Is there anything else to report?”

  “No.”

  “Sit.” Ash sat as Arascus stood up. “There is no shame in failure in these meetings. If something is impossible, and the impossibility be expihen there is nothing to be done. We’re not building dders to the Sun here, we’re running a war. Setbacks do happen. Ash, those pnes be made faster?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then squeeze them until they’re almost at breaking point. onry be substituted, the phemselves ot.”

  “Yes Sir.” Ash replied, Arascus did not react as he spoke to the people around the wooden table.

  “The ne Project is celled. We will be heading forwards with the Sorcery-tingency. Tremali, present the pn.” The elf already had his notes prepared. He stood up, that little red cape fluttering slightly behind his bck suit aook a deep breath.

  “In short, the Sorcery-tingency is finalized in the same fashion. We use the po ambush Leona as she is in-flight. The e is the same, but preparations will be harder.” He took a breath and pulled out a list of tasks to plete.

  “Firstly, I have e in tact with Sorcerers during the Fer I. They have firmed to be apostles of Goddess Anassa, and that she is locked away in Arcadia. The steps are rather simple, we either rescue Anassa, or we temporarily recruit a number of her students.” Tremali put the paper down and started to walk around the table, his hand on his sword hilt.

  “There is an obvious danger which is that Leona is still active. As iion SkyStealer, a higher-value target has to be presented as bait to lure out Leona.” He let took another breath. “In the case of SkyStealer, it was easy, a third of the men were sent off to Pepayel Regional Airport and the rest were tasked with lower priority targets. In the case of Goddess Anassa, there is one possible target which could be sidered of higher priority.”

  Iliyal Tremali looked to Arascus.

  “However od ot show himself until Leona is firmed dead. A rescue of Anassa would als attention to us.”

  “So you’re saying we hire the four young sorcerers you met?” Duchess Daganhoff spoke up. Iliyal nodded.

  “I saw them fight, only one girl has aation with ending lives. The other three would make for excellent human artillery.”

  “So you’re saying we mount them to a pne?” Edwis Arheim asked. The brown-haired and green-eyed man was tasked with unicatioween the various branches. Arguably one of the most important roles, and one only a person so utterly b as Edwis could hope to achieve in. The ck of creative thinking in him was exactly the sort of thing o keep up to date on unication els.

  “Ash.” Arascus silehe room as it began to chatter. “I don’t want a design from yht now, I merely want to know if it is possible: we have a pne from which sorcerers cast magic?”

  All eyes fell on Mikhail Ash as the man sat there for a moment. He sidered something, then something else, then crossed his arms. “Do you mean a door?”

  “It be a door or a hole.” Arascus replied.

  “Easily. Yes. With full certainty. The pne could be ready…” He thought for a moment. “Four weeks time? Three if we’re fast.” Arascus shook his head.

  “Give it five, luck is not to be factor. If you have to rus, then run them in North-Eastern Karaina, away from civilization.” The God turo Iliyal Tremali. “Stay after the meeting, we will discuss how to acquire our human artillery.”