There were other things, of course. He looked down at the city, hoping that it was still going to be there in a month's time. The approaching army concerned him, but Keritanima seemed confident that they had the manpower necessary to win. He hoped she was right. He'd already destroyed one city, he didn't want to have to scorch the earth of Suld to protect the Tower and the Goddess.
Kitten, there will be no need for that, the voice of the Goddess touched him. As things go now, you have little to worry over.
"What do you mean?"
The army is still coming, but with Amelyn's capture, even they realize that their chances of victory have dwindled. They know you have come, and they know what you can do, and what is most important, they know that we are preparing for their arrival. They know that even if they do win, it will cost them their entire army. And Suld will not be the last time that they will clash with the combined forces of our side. They know that, and the hopes of a quick victory have been dashed.
Tarrin mulled that over. "If they know they can't win, why are they still coming?"
You don't understand the psychology of some of the creatures they've recruited, kitten, she told him. They want a fight. If they don't give them one, they'll end up losing them, even have them attack the humans in their own army. They promised them a battle, and now they have no choice but to hold up their side of the bargain.
"If that's so, why Suld? Darsa is on the way. They could attack Darsa and give them their fight, and protect their troops."
Darsa is deserted, kitten, she told him. Keritanima arranged through the regent to clear the way for the army. There's not a living soul between Suld and the Tykarthian border. If they want a fight, they have to come here. They have no other choice.
Tarrin picked up on what she said earlier. "What do you mean, this won't be the last time?"
Simple, kitten. Now that the ki'zadun has come out from the shadows, their organization is threatened. Do you really believe that the rulers of the West, or Keritanima, or even the Tower, are going to allow them to simply run away and start again? They have shown their hand, and now they have to finish the game. Keritanima's spies have found their strongholds, and after Suld, they will probably march on them. If the ki'zadun's army is destroyed here, there will be no protecting those strongholds from the counterattack, and we know that one of those strongholds holds the icon of Val. And unlike me, who will simply be banished from the world until I can reform my icon, Val would be destroyed, because his godly spirit is imprisoned within his icon. That is why the battle of Suld won't be much of a battle. They will give their bloodthirsty allies a taste of the battle they promised, then retreat back to their strongholds to protect their god, where their numbers give them a much better chance of holding them. As you know, it is much easier to defend with limited numbers than attack with limited numbers.
Tarrin mulled that over, and found the reasoning sound. If they knew that they couldn't win, they should have just turned around and went back, but they couldn't do that. The nasties and Demons they conjured joined for the chance for battle and destruction, and now they had no choice but to give what they promised. You did not break a deal with a Demon. Odds were, they'd let those that demanded battle to go in and do just that, then withdraw the smarter forces while the battle-crazed ones held up the defending armies to protect their rear as they fled.
"So, the new job is to destroy as much of that army as possible before it can retreat," he reasoned.
Precisely. And that is something that won't be easy.
"Why? I could just fly over them and destroy a good chunk of them."
No, you can't. If they can't take Suld and destroy my icon, they'll take whatever they can get. Killing you would give this failure a positive light when they have to report back to Val about what happened. Just as our side will try to inflict as much damage as they can, so will theirs. And you're too valuable to risk. When the army comes and the fight starts, kitten, you will not leave the Tower grounds. They will be looking specifically for you. I'm not going to allow you into any position where they can isolate and destroy you.
"Mother, I can handle myself," he protested.
Against mortals, yes. But what they're going to send is nothing like anything you have ever imagined, kitten, she warned. They've delved deeply into the pits of Hell for the creatures they've conjured for this battle.
"If that's so, then they'll need me to help fight them."
No they won't. You forget that you're not the only sui'kun here. That battle will be Jenna's to fight, not yours.
"Jenna! She's just a girl!"
And when you started, you were only a couple of years older than her, she reminded. This is why Jenna came back to Suld, kitten. This is her fight. Don't worry, my daughter is going to train her, and train her well. Even ten or so days of instruction will mean a world of difference. Jenna is very smart and learns quickly. Spyder will train her in what she will need to know to combat the darkness approaching us.
Tarrin growled in his throat. He didn't like it, not one bit. Jenna was too young to be fighting, too delicate for fighting. It wasn't in her nature. He was the one who should be out there defending Suld, not Jenna. He could handle it. But he would not disobey the Goddess, not in any way, not for any reason. She told him to stay on the Tower grounds, and he would do just that.
That's my kitten, she praised in a loving voice. I have to go now. Remember, kitten, don't worry too much about the coming army. I want your attention focused on your primary mission and on the training Spyder will give you. Let the others worry about the battle.
"Alright," he sighed. He didn't like it, but he would do it.
Very good. I love you, kitten.
"I love you too, Mother," he called, and then he felt her retreat from him in that peculiar way. She never truly lost touch with him now, the way she used to, instead he felt her pull away from him, leaving that gentle touch on him that was always there, always comforting.
Not that it comforted him much now. He didn't like the orders she'd given him, but there was little he could do about it. He couldn't disobey. He didn't want Jenna to have to go out and fight for the Goddess. She was his sister, she wasn't ready for it, she wasn't suited for it. She was too young. But if the Goddess said that it would be that way, he had to accept it.
He looked down at the city once again, staring at the lights, his mind lost in thought. It turned out that all his rushing to get here had been for nothing. If the ki'zadun weren't going to commit to the attack, then he'd done all that worrying and hurrying for nothing. He remembered what he'd been told about Val, and he realized that the rulers of the ki'zadun were going to have a lot of explaining to do when they went back. The kind of explaining that would end with someone dragging their lifeless bodies out of his presence. That kind of fate would make them desperate, and desperate men were dangerous men. The Goddess may think that the battle was already won, but Tarrin wasn't so sure. If they were desperate enough, they just might commit to an assault, because they had nothing to lose. To attack and be repelled looked alot better than to simply turn and run away. At least they could say that they made an attempt. That would be something they could take back with them. He did see the logic in the Goddess' order for him to stay out of it. If they could kill him, that would be a big something that they could take back with them. The coming war was nothing but another in a series of moves to gain the ultimate prize, the Firestaff. One always had to keep the goal in mind when viewing these positions. Their reason to attack Suld was to eliminate the katzh-dashi, the Goddess, and Tarrin from the race, the ones who served as their primary opponents. If they couldn't destroy the Goddess' icon, then they had to do anything they could to slow Tarrin down.