Page 55 of Silver & Smoke
– A History of Thezmarr
TORJ HAD LOSTcount of how many times he had sat in Thezmarr’s war room over the years. First as a young shieldbearer taking meeting notes, then as a Guardian relaying messages from abroad and eventually as a Warsword strategizing for battle himself. But only one moment in this room stood out to him in a sea of others...
‘Where’s Wren?’
Gods, he’d been bound to her even then. He remembered the day as though it were yesterday: stuck in another post-war council, debating the state of the midrealms, when he’d realized she was no longer at the table. He’d known instantly where she’d gone, and what she’d gone to do. For all his Furies-given power, he hadn’t been fast enough to stop her. He’d raced through the corridors to find her in the alchemy workshop with the imprisoned former Guild Master, a teapot sitting innocently between them.
Now, he gazed upon a replica of that same teapot sitting proudlyon a shelf, and across the table from him Wren gave him a gentle smile.
Any regrets, Bear Slayer?she asked into his mind.
He bit back his answering grin.Not one, Embers.
‘Alright,’ Audra called from the head of the table. ‘Now that everyone has gathered, we need to make our positions clear as to the upcoming conflict.’
Torj looked around to find an array of familiar faces looking to the Guild Master: Wren, Wilder, Thea, Cal and Kipp, who had all been here before, as well as Zavier, Dessa and Darian.
‘For my part,’ Audra continued, ‘Delmira has the full support of Thezmarr behind it. We do not suffer tyrants, and will not stand by as another attempts to usurp a trueborn heir of the midrealms. Our forces stand at one thousand strong.’
Torj said nothing, but he felt the unease ripple through the room. Lucian’s spies had relayed the enemy numbers, and by all accounts Silas’s army was cited at five thousand – possibly more, depending on how many poor folks had succumbed to the howler-like state of bloodlust. Wren would need a lot more support if they were to stand a fighting chance, even with Lucian’s bannermen and Thezmarr’s best among them.
‘How many will join the march from Thezmarr to Delmira?’ Torj asked.
Audra bowed her head in acknowledgement. ‘Our Guardians make up three hundred of our total numbers and are stationed across the midrealms, so they will gather and meet us in Delmira. However, we have seven hundred shieldbearers either here at Thezmarr or within a day’s ride – this is the force that will leave from the fortress with you.’
‘Shieldbearers...’ Darian said slowly. ‘Aren’t they your novices? Your amateurs? I mean no disrespect, Guild Master, but we needwarriors,not students, in this war.’
‘A Thezmarrian shieldbearer may be young or inexperienced,’ Thea cut in, ‘but they would still be far more battle-trained thanthe average foot soldier within the People’s Vanguard or Silas’s army of howlers. They can hold their own.’
Audra nodded. ‘Exactly. And you’ll find that the shieldbearers under my tutelage are a breed of their own,’ she added proudly.
‘What about the Warswords?’ Darian asked. ‘How many do we have and where are they?’
‘With the deaths of Cahira, Vernich the Bloodletter and Ashlyn Graves, we now have ten Warswords remaining, which is far more than we had in the previous war,’ Audra replied. ‘And I will say this... Graves was widely known as the backbone of the new era of Warswords. Her loyalty to the guild and its warriors was second to none. Thezmarr wants blood for her death, and for the deaths of Vernich and Cahira. My warriors are ready to fight.’
That seemed to satisfy Darian. ‘Good.’
‘What of the other kingdoms?’ Torj interjected. ‘What do they bring to the conflict?’
‘As you know, Aveum suffered great losses during the shadow war, with one of the final battles fought on their doorstep. Even so, Queen Reyna has pledged seven hundred men to come to Delmira’s defence. They march from the winter kingdom as we speak. Harenth is in a similar position in that it sustained great losses in the war, but there is also an understandable reluctance to trust a royal military after what King Artos did. As such, it has lost a great many to the efforts of the People’s Vanguard. Regent Liora cites their army at one thousand, and vows that besides a small unit left behind to guard the capital, her men are on standby to march as soon as we establish a base in Delmira. She has also expressed her thanks for alerting her to the poisoning of the townsfolk of outer Hailford. It is being investigated as we speak.’
‘And what of King Leiko? Do we suspect any resistance from him?’ Wren asked. ‘He hasn’t exactly been forthcoming...’
Audra grimaced. ‘King Leiko has his own scars from the shadow war that make him difficult to work with, I’ll admit. However, Ireceived word from him yesterday that his army of twelve hundred will come to our aid. They, too, march as we speak.’
Darian cleared his throat. ‘And with the newly forged alliances that Elwren and I have made in celebration of our union, we have one thousand men to offer to the cause.’
Kipp looked up from the notes he’d been taking. ‘Which leaves our allied forces at just under five thousand to Silas’s five... Not bad, considering the odds we’ve had in the past.’
‘Agreed,’ Thea said. ‘And having a bunch of angry Warswords on our side helps.’
‘And angry alchemists,’ Wren added.
‘I think we can agree thateveryone’sfucking angry.’ Wilder huffed a hoarse laugh. ‘What about Talemir? And the shadow-touched? He said he’d send word.’
Audra tensed. ‘I was brought a message by Drue’s hawk the day before last. Despite their efforts, they have only managed to gather a force of thirty volunteers.’
Torj’s chest seized. He remembered Talemir’s warning aboardTheFuries’ Willthat he could make no promises, but... ‘Only thirty?’ he asked quietly.
