between the shadows and the soul - warship and killdare

[Straia]

i am the violence in the pouring rain

i am a hurricane

They cannot rely on the Valley. The kingdom is nearly dead again, so whatever support they get from the members of the Valley will be minimal at best. But she knows that the rest of Beqanna is massing, bent against the Chamber mostly because they are bored and determined to go to war. Lagertha, if no one else, would see to it.

And Straia is tired of waiting. But they need to decide their plan.

She sends her ravens looking for them – Killdare and Warship. They’ve talked in circles, but this would be their last opportunity. Besides, now she knew what the tree had shown her. Now she knew the ways this war would likely go. There’s no way to determine the future accurately, but she’s seen the possibilities. And that is better than nothing.

She waits for them to come, knowing they will follow the raven that leads them. When they come, she dives straight into business. “Shaytan and I have tried the tree. And it showed me this pending war of ours. These are the options the flames have showed me, and I’d like to know which option you both want to pursue. Because I am tired of waiting and rumors and planning. If we wait too long, we will not have the opportunity to do things our way.”

And if nothing else, things would be done their way. Above her, the ravens are massing, blocking out prying eyes and ears. They keep silent other than the beating of their wings, but it’s enough to keep this conversation private. “We can attack. Set the terms, though in truth, I have no particular demands that I plan to make except I am endlessly tired of their talk of revenge, and I want them to shut up. We can use our magicians to erect a wall around the Gates and slow the other kingdoms from entering. They will ultimately get in though, and we will face most of Beqanna against us. We can win that fight, but we can lose just as easily.”

She’d see both outcomes, and they were more likely to lose than win. They’d be outnumbered by far, and their powers would be no more than equal on either side, if they were lucky. “Or we bring them to us. Steal and challenge until they can’t take it. Threaten. Whatever it takes. It won’t be hard to break the dam. Turn them into exactly what they hate – us.” She grins slightly, knowing Lagertha doesn’t care if she’s good or bad. Knowing she just wants to fight. Knowing that Mast speaks of revenge as much as Magnus had. They wanted a fight as much, if not more, than the Chamber did. They just wouldn’t get their hands dirty.

“While they are busy fighting their way through ravens and pine trees, our magicians can do whatever damage to their homes and magical entities as they can manage. “ In one variation of this prediction, Evrae was able to turn every single one of the entities back to the start, making the kingdoms live through another six years of infant entities that could offer them no help. This outcome was not guaranteed, depending on how the situation turned out. But it was possible, and that was something. “Bringing them here isn’t ideal, but it might be a better option for us to stick to the land we know and can defend. The land that will, in fact, aid us in such a fight.”

straia

the raven queen of the chamber