Feathered Hearts C&C - Chapter 30 update and teaser · 5:06pm Dec 5th, 2022
The climactic Battle of Lake Languid chapter has reached 21,000 words at this point, and given I can see the entire thing needing another 5,000 or more words before it’s finished, it’s reached the point where I have to break it up. So you’re going to be getting two chapters instead of one, in what should be reasonably quick succession.
Taken together, there are two large and major battle scenes with a single extended intermission between them, plus what I hope are equal parts ominous and interesting intro and coda sections. They’re not about combat but stage-setting, both for the battle and what comes after.
No spoilers beyond that except to expect two major twists. Okay, I’ll give one minor spoiler, in the form of a teaser I promised earlier:
“Thank the Ancestors you’re back, Centurion,” Fortrakt’s voice was heard over the radio from where he continued to orbit overhead. “I wanted to go look for you, but Giraldi told me no,” he said in a slightly accusing tone.
Gilda nodded, feeling her cheeks warm at Fortrakt’s stubborn loyalty and bravery, relieved he hadn’t gone looking for them given what he could have found. Do I dare tell him or Marco? Do I dare tell ANYCREATURE what really happened out there?
She still didn’t know, but Gilda took some small solace in the fact that Karin Kazal was probably asking himself the exact same questions as he stood beside and slightly behind her. Maybe I shouldn’t even bother, given it was just a one-time thing—a mutual reward for saving each other that we both enjoyed but also agreed will never happen again.
She was surprised to feel a moment of pain at the thought, but as the distinct sound of a firing bowcaster rang out from the upper slope, she stuffed it as firmly out of her mind as she could.
Win the battle and save all our lives first, worry about the rest later! she ordered herself sharply. “I appreciate the thought, cub, but it was the right decision. The Cloven have proven that they’ll concentrate against any isolated forces they see outside the hill. Especially human ones,” she said somewhat ruefully.
“We figured that out too late, sir. But in fairness, our tactics seem to have worked well so far,” Imlay answered this time. “We’ve blunted and bloodied them pretty badly even before they’ve been able to assault the hill itself. Judging from what the Ravens and my returning Marines said, we’ve taken out at least several hundred ground soldiers and gutted their flyer formations. In fact, it looks like we hurt them badly enough that they’re having to gather more force before they hit the hill directly.”
“And where are they now?” she asked as several more distinctive twangs rang out along with visible bolts of magical energy lancing downslope, followed by the sharp crack! of Lance Corporal Henderson’s “EMR”. What does that stand for again? ‘Enhanced-something-rifle’?
“Probing, as you can hear,” Giraldi replied with a nod upslope. “I’ve authorized our bowcasters and human cannons to fire on any Cloven they see, with priority given to those larger flyers and mages. The Ravens say they have special feeder crystals that are effective against Magus shields, but they only have a limited supply of them.”
“I see. And where are the main Cloven columns?” she asked.
“Halted a third of a league out along the lakeshore paths around the north and south sides of the lake,” Mile Fortuna replied. “I’ve ordered my surviving soldiers to shadow them but not engage them. We already lost two dead in the woods on the other side of the lake.”
That gave Gilda pause. “Please tell me that they won’t be—”
“They will not be corrupted. For we are always equipped with countermeasures to prevent capture, Centurion,” the Senior Scimitar anticipated her question. “Our warriors have small crystals implanted inside our heads. They activate when our heartbeat stops and destroy the mind within. Other variants exist that incinerate our bodies entirely. We can also manually trigger them if needed. Never mind how.”
“She speaks true,” Karin Kazal admitted. “It’s why the Capricorn Conclave never recovers bodies or knowledge from captured Ravens. I regret we did not take similar measures on my side, however. And on that subject, I would be remiss to point out that at least two of my former team of eight remain unaccounted for…” he trailed off ominously.
“Then you’re saying that there could be two corrupted Adepts out there?” Miles Fortune paraphrased in some disgust. “How unsurprisingly sloppy, Starshina. And is there anything else you haven’t told us?”
“That the Cloven would reemerge after well over a millennium could hardly be a contingency planned for during their operation, Senior Scimitar. Still, the presence of additional hostile adepts does pose a potential threat. Are there any more magical tricks or artifacts they might have to use against us, Karin Kazal?” Giraldi asked, more calmly, stepping between Miles Fortuna and Karin Kazal when it looked like the Ibex buck was about to get in the former’s face.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Though he looked like he wanted to snarl at or outright insult his Raven rival, the Starshina held his tongue; Gilda judged it because he half-thought she might be right. “They each had an enhanced anchor point crystal in their possession. But even if they still have them, the same rules apply to those as applied to the ones we used—they have to get them to a desired destination before they can be used, and activating one takes several minutes, during which time any incoming forces are extremely vulnerable,” he pointed out.
“Then we’ll have to act quickly if they’re used against us. Can you detect their activation?” Gilda asked.
“As we are attuned to them, yes, at greater range than you can. But given the difficulties in emplacing them, I do not see that they would be useful here. With the help of Decanus Nydia, we have already emplaced anti-teleport fields over and inside the hill to prevent any corrupted Cloven from entering that way,” he recited.
“Regardless, be assured that if ibexian magic is used or another summoning gem is activated, I or my surviving comrades will sense them. We will alert you instantly, but I ask that I be allowed to deal with any possessed adepts if possible. For I feel it is my duty as their commander and comrade to grant them release from the corruption of the Cloven.”
“If possible, then fine.” Gilda decided she owed him that much as another round of bowcaster bolts and bullets were fired from upslope. “How are the dragons?”
“Wounded and being treated by the Decanus and the ibex doe,” Giraldi replied. “I told Nydia to concentrate on healing Orange Crush’s wings and Emerald Inferno’s hide to get them back in the fight, though the latter seems inconsolable right now after witnessing what became of her sire. Worse, Red Hot is badly wounded and out of the fight. And with respect, I would avoid Obsidian Ire for now, sir,” Giraldi finished with a raised eyeridge. “Needless to say, she is not pleased with you.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Despite the implicit threat, Gilda smiled. She couldn’t help it—for her arrogance and attitude, she rather liked the large female for reminding her of herself as a teen. And just like Rainbow or Tara, she’s really good in a fight, too…
“If I may, Centurion…” A new voice was heard; Gilda looked up to see the smallest of the dragon females approach the group, causing heads to turn towards her.
“Rose Ruby, is it?” Gilda addressed her, noting the pink-hued drakina stood a full head smaller than Imlay, leaving Gilda guessing she was still an immature adolescent, barely a quarter-century old.
“Yes,” she said in an accented voice that almost sounded demure, leaving Gilda wondering if she was somehow the dragon version of Fluttershy. “I just wanted you to know that despite whatever Obsidian Ire may say, she does respect you. She wouldn’t obey your orders if she didn’t.”
“All well and good, except she didn’t obey them before,” Gilda said pointedly with a glance at Giraldi. “I told her to withdraw, and she failed to.”
“Because she didn’t respect you then,” Rose Ruby replied in an unperturbed tone, the scythe mounted on her back nearly as large as she was. “But she does now, after seeing you risk your life to save our clan sisters, fighting the flyer swarms alongside her and braving the attack of one of our own corrupted adults. She is proud like all of us, but not so proud that she doesn’t understand we can’t beat the Cloven or win back our lands alone,” Rose Ruby said with certainty.
“Pride is not helpful when it leads to lost battles or needless casualties, young drakina. Will she obey orders now?” Giraldi asked, leaving Gilda ruefully reflecting that her own pride and inability to apologize was what had kept her away from Rainbow for so many years.
“I swear by our Ancient Dragon Lords themselves that she will. And as for Emerald Inferno, she will need time but will be fit to fight again later. Be assured that I will stand in her stead for now.” She stood to passable upright attention before Gilda and then gave the curious dragon double-fisted salute, starting with her talons held up to either side of her before bring them in to bang against her scaled chest.
“I see.” Returning the salute, Gilda wondered again how much use the small drakina would really be, being anything but imposing physically and wielding a weapon that she couldn’t fathom would actually be useful. But she also didn’t want to hurt her feelings, recognizing that she was trying to be a brave and mighty warrior like her clan sisters were. “Then I would order you to—”
Before she could finish her sentence, there was a sudden flash of light that resolved into a half-rotted ibex doe with badly cracked antlers and two freshly killed Ravens, recognizable from their gray fur dye and ripped open throats from which blood still dripped. Though visibly wounded and hobbled under the control of a parasite, they already had their repeaters and scimitars leveled and pointed at her group; Gilda barely had enough time to register their presence and recognize that they had her entire command team dead to rights, able to take them all out at once.
Her life flashing before her eyes again in that instant, watching helplessly as an enchanted scimitar began to swing for her throat in a slash that she knew would penetrate her armor as if it wasn’t even there, she found her newest regret was that she had not been able to tell Marco what had happened or make amends, hoping only that she could somehow make it up to him in the afterlife...
Hopefully that will whet your appetite for what’s to come. There is no sex here, though you can bet some is likely to happen in the eventual aftermath. The first chapter will be going to prereaders tonight, and I don’t expect the second will be far behind. Look for at least one chapter release by the weekend. Nothing else to say about it right now except this:
I guess the Parasite controlled Griffon was given the Teleportation enhanced point and where cloaked by Raven stealth crystal?
I wonder if the cloven can simulate heartbeats?
If yes, it would counter the heartbeat safeguard.
Further if their body has blood pumping through their system it might like a braindead body being keep alive by maschines preventing the body from dying and keep it clinically alive.
If their throats still bleed, how can they be already infected? There is literally no time for a Parasite to dig in, grow inside and take control of the dying body.
Unless the trick of the time manipulation that Ibex use to enjoying Gilda longer can be repurposed?
Rose Ruby sure can shine bright now save the command staff and slay the 3 attackers alone.
I could imagen her Yoda style dispatch them with her SCYTHE abd CLAWS!
RIP AND TEAR, until it is done!
Rose Ruby is going to be called Rory soon.
At least I hope she makes it through.