Safe from the Horrors

Devrim went on to explain the horrific days of the assault on Oblivion. Although he wanted to spare those he loved from the violence that took place there, he did not think it wise to leave out details that could help them in the future.

And all of them had already been in a bloody war once before. The details were sad, but not shocking.

"Lady Ashleigh used herself as bait by pretending to be Aurora. She hoped to focus the abominations on the front wall. It worked, but one of the wolves managed to throw himself over the wall and get inside the city. Junayd went after him, leaving me without my most trusted advisor. After that, chaos ensued."

The Emperor told of the struggle as they successfully repelled the abominations from the walls that first night. Livie had no idea how prepared the Imperial army was, and the shock of so many troops and traps had caused her to retreat. Valiant had triumphed.

"I am not foolhardy enough to think I did that with my own wits alone. I think that if it were not for your tricks, Renat, we would not be having this conversation right now. They truly cut down their army in a way that our forces could not." Devrim affirmed his son-in-law.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I did what I could." Renat reached back to stop his small wagging tail.

"You forgot one part. How did Junayd catch the abomination who made it into the city?" Mairwen had not forgotten, and the loose end bothered her.

"I will get there soon enough," Devrim winced. "I did not find out the answer until the following day when Livie tried something new that nearly devastated us. She pushed a battering ram up to Oblivion's gate and used these monstrous white creatures to work the machine. They were like nothing you have ever seen!"

"You would be surprised," Aurora answered gently.

"What do you mean?" Devrim looked down for a second. "Did you encounter one while on your journey?"

"We can talk about that when you are through." The Empress leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder, determined not to interrupt him again until he was through.

Devrim talked about the devastating results of the battering ram and the lone wolf that had saved them from ruin.

For a moment, Mairwen felt like she was reading one of her story books. Her heart raced. "So there was one traitor among the abominations who helped to save you. Such a hero! We must reward him well. Wait! Was this the wolf that Junayd encountered in the city? Did Junayd convince the wolf to do the right thing?"

Devrim gave a sad smile. "Quite a rather different twist. The wolf was Junayd."

"No!" Renat felt a keen sense of loss. "When you say 'was'…"

"Oh he is still alive and well and back with the troops," Devrim assured him. "And he seems to be handling the situation rather well, all things considered. I have yet to see him go feral."

Devrim was very proud of his advisor. He knew it took a very strong person to resist that urge.

"I am glad for that, at least," the young scientist sighed mournfully, "I hope for his sake this is always true."

The Emperor could see the pain in the brown wolf's eyes. Mairwen could see it too, and she brushed her husband's cheek with her hand before carefully fixing his collar. The elves had tailored new clothing for Renat, but the elven fashion did not work well with his thick, furry neck. Accordingly, the princess was constantly adjusting it to make Renat more comfortable.

"Days passed with little happening except surprise melees at night. They seemed keen on attacking and killing me with those little strikes, but they always managed to injure at least a few of the men with each engagement." Devrim's face darkened.

"And each of those men transformed into an abomination?" Alaron could see where this was going.

"We figured out Livie was trying to rot us from the inside out. With enough time we would all have been turned into her vile creatures either by her sneak attacks or from our own allies losing control. It was a losing battle. That is, until Gandr returned."

"Did he get all the townsfolk to safety?" Mairwen squeezed a clump of her dress in her hand as she anticipated the news.

"Everyone made it to your associate, Kiz, safe and sound, but our former spy broke orders and brought someone back with him. In the end it was both Gandr and Eliana who turned the tide in the battle for Oblivion."

"ELIANA?!" All four listening were in shocked.

"Eliana is in Oblivion?" The princess was distraught. She, Alaron and Renat had worked hard to free her.

"Not anymore. Don't worry. Eiliana is quite safe just now." Devrim quieted her fears. "After the famous problem-solver realized that cold slowed and even countered the effects of the poison, it gave us a fighting chance.

"So we hatched a plan. Gandr pretended to be one of the wolves to remove Livie from the fighting. And well, he succeeded to an extent and allowed us the chance to spring a full frontal attack.

"All the men fought, both human and creature. At first Livie's abominations were unorganized and many went feral at the thought of being tricked in such a way. With Livie out of the picture, they had no one to streamline their movements. But that did not last.

"A tan wolf called them to order. She was already battered and beaten, but somehow remained in control of her mind. Her voice traveled across the battlefield, rallying those around her. If she had not been trying to kill us, I might have been inspired as well."

It was at that point that the Imperial army had met a wall of abominations unlike they had ever seen. The creatures were wild and unruly, fully giving into their predatory instincts at the expense of their human reasoning. At that moment, many Imperial troops lost their lives to the harrowing assault.

With the Emperor to bolster them, the army had been unwilling to give up. "Use your mind, not just your strength!" Devrim had screamed over the chaos.

The creatures had been far stronger than his troops, but brute strength could be mitigated by strong, precise strikes. Skill and cunning had been their greatest weapons against their wild foes.

Devrim continued his story for those present, "With Gandr and Junayd to flank me, We pushed a wedge through their lines until we were able to engage the tan wolf. She fought tenaciously, but she was so angry with Gandr that she left her back open to Junayd's deadly blade. With her gone, there was no one willing to step and lead. A few tried with little success, but as the battle raged on through the night and into the next morning, the abominations finally admitted defeat.

"Those who did not flee finally came back to their senses and surrendered. We tended to the wounded and brought back the prisoners to Oblivion. By the time we had finished up the battle, Ashleigh and the remaining citizens had reinforced the prison and created holding tanks for those who were captured. For now, they are secure.

"But that meant leaving behind part of my troops to keep things running for the duchess. Too many of her men were lost or transformed for her to have enough on her own. And our reinforcements never came. I had hoped to meet them on the way to the lake and even sent another message to the fort inquiring as to their delay. I still have hope they will come."

"But what about the army that was with you. Where are they?" Aurora finally felt she could stay silent no longer.

"They were around two days' march from the far edge of the lake. I told Junayd to stop them before the lake would be in sight so as not to tip off Taran that we are near. They will await further orders. I trust Junayd to use his best judgment." The Emperor still had full faith in his advisor even in his wolf form. It was a testament to their bond.

"But you said that 'we' arrived here a little while ago. I assumed you meant you and Junayd... and Reyan, of course." The Empress felt something was amiss.

"Because he is an abomination, Reyan could not transport Junayd even if he wanted to. And once a general, always a general. Junayd could not leave the men behind even to plan a war. Gandr and I came along with one more visitor."

The nursery door burst open, but instead of seeing Colvyr returning from his walk, an ecstatic young man came running in the room dragging a beautiful lady with him. "She's here, Your Majesty. My sister is here!"

"I don't suppose this is the famed Dania, is it?" Aurora asked with a hint of a smile.

Devrim kissed the top of her head as it leaned on his shoulder. "My love, I would like you to meet Eliana, the eldest sibling of Dania. What?" he asked when she looked up at him incredulously. "I said she was safe, didn't I?"