Chapter 73 Ravel #2
If Kailin truly possessed the ability to dream the future, she wasn't just a potential shaman—she was something entirely unprecedented. But the implications were too vast, too disorienting to process in the midst of deployment.
Twenty minutes felt like both an eternity and an instant. As we approached Podana, I could make out the city lights, and within a few heartbeats, the metropolis was spread out below us, peaceful and unaware. There was no sign of fires, no indication of the destruction I had expected to see.
Had we arrived in time? Or had Kailin raised a false alarm?
I adjusted my night vision goggles, scanning the terrain below. The city sprawled across several tiers carved into the mountainside, a blend of ancient stone structures and more modern buildings.
At this hour, most windows were dark, the streets empty save for a few late-night revelers or early risers.
"The commander says Alpha Section is to split and cover the northern quadrant," Onyx said, relaying orders from Nyxath. "We are assigned to the upper tier."
I nodded, then signaled to direct my squadron to spread out in surveillance formation above the highest tier of Podana. From this vantage point, I could see the sprawling administrative buildings, the historic Great Hall, and the governor's mansion—all potential high-value targets.
Minutes ticked by, tension building with each passing moment.
"There!" Onyx's mental voice was sharp.
I followed his gaze and saw it—a subtle undulation of the ground near the western edge of the upper tier. It was barely perceptible at first, like a ripple in water, but it grew more pronounced with each passing second.
"Hold position," I signaled to my squadron, my hand movement clear against the illuminated night sky.
The ground continued to bulge upward, the stone plaza in the ripple's path cracking around the growing mound. This was it—the moment before the storm.
And then it happened.
The ground erupted.
The massive tunneling worm burst through the stone, sending chunks of masonry flying in all directions.
It thrashed upward, its segmented body continuing to emerge until it towered three stories high.
Behind it, the tunnel it had created gaped like an open wound in the earth, and from within, the Shedun demons poured out.
It wasn't the chaotic rush I would have expected. The first wave carried standard curved blades in addition to rifles strapped to their backs, with those behind them carrying the distinctive long pipes of explosive projectiles, weapons designed specifically to bring dragons down.
I signaled for my squadron to take position so that we would be attacking the invading horde from behind, in the hopes of neutralizing the anti-dragon weapons before any could be deployed.
I was waiting for the right moment for our counterattack.
If we struck too early, we might miss the bulk of the force still emerging from the tunnel.
Too late, and they would have their anti-dragon weapons at the ready while the rest would spread into the residential streets, and we wouldn't be able to contain them.
Almost simultaneously, I saw similar eruptions occurring at other points around the city's perimeter.
The Shedun had coordinated their attack perfectly, striking from multiple directions at once to divide and overwhelm the city's defenses.
They must have mobilized all of their worms for this attack, hoping to deliver a devastating blow to Elucia.
“Onyx, communicate to Nyxath what we are seeing.
If she hasn't yet, she should check with the Wrath Wing if they see any activity on the border.
This attack is massive, but we should be on the alert for a diversion.
I wouldn't be surprised if regular Sitorian forces mounted an assault on the transportation hub while all eyes are on Podana.”
In the distance, I could see the first units of Elucian ground forces rushing toward the breach points, but they wouldn't arrive in time to stop the initial wave.
That was our job.
I gave the signal for attack.
We dove as one, fifteen dragons and their riders, plummeting toward the unsuspecting Shedun below.
They had not expected us to be ready for them, and their surprise was evident as they spotted us descending from the night sky.
Those with the pipes got in position to fire at the descending dragons, and it was a race to the punch.
We had to take them out before they had time to load their explosive projectiles and discharge them en masse at us.
"Now!" I commanded.
Onyx opened his enormous jaws, and a stream of blue-white fire erupted, engulfing the Shedun. They didn't even have time to scream before they were incinerated.
The other dragons of my squadron unleashed similar streams of devastation, targeting the Shedun emerging from the tunnel.
The worm itself thrashed in agony as multiple dragons directed their fire at its body.
It wasn't as easy to incinerate as its masters, its body covered in scales similar to those of dragons, even though they were not related in any way.
The scales might have protected it, but its primitive nervous system was still overwhelmed by searing pain.
I felt sorry for the creature in a way I didn't for its vile masters. It didn't dig tunnels for them because it wanted to, and it had no evil intentions. Nevertheless, it was an instrument of destruction, and the more of them we killed, the fewer tools the Shedun had to fight with.
As it writhed in agony, more Shedun poured from the tunnel, replacing those we had struck down.
I signaled for my squadron to pull up and regroup. We couldn't maintain a continuous fire—dragons needed time to regenerate it, and pushing them too hard would leave them defenseless.
As we circled above the breach point, I could see the ground forces arriving at the outer edges of the battlefield and engaging the Shedun who had managed to spread beyond our initial strike.
The sharp reports of rifles piercing the quiet of the night were easy to hear, even as far above the ground as we were.
And yet, despite our rapid response and the arrival of the ground forces, the Shedun still kept coming.
For every demon we struck down, two emerged from the tunnels, and they were pushing steadily inward, toward the residential districts where civilians were waking up and assuming defensive positions.
Once they reached those densely packed neighborhoods, dragon fire would be rendered useless. I signaled for another run, this time focusing on the tunnel's entrance itself. If we could collapse it, we might stem the tide at this breach point.
By now, the Shedun had their anti-dragon weapons loaded and trained on us. We'd lost the element of surprise, and we had literally hundreds of deadly projectiles waiting to be fired at us as soon as our descent brought us within range.
"Our dragfire reserves are low," Onyx warned as we dove once more. "One, perhaps two more full-strength attacks before we must allow time to regenerate."
“Make this one count, then. Target the tunnel entrance.”
We plunged down, Onyx's wings pulled tight against his body to maximize our descent speed and minimize our visual footprint as a target, both making us harder to hit. Regardless, hundreds of flashes from the ground indicated that a massive volley of projectiles was traveling up to meet us.
Within seconds, Onyx was forced to perform evasive maneuvers as the projectiles zipped all around us.
While I was beseeching Elu to protect my riders, Logan's dragon was hit, spinning out of control, but only for a brief moment before leveling out, breaking off formation, and re-ascending at an alarmingly slow rate.
I didn't have time to follow its progress as the ground was rapidly approaching.
At the last possible moment, Onyx snapped his wings open to brake, hovering momentarily as he unleashed a concentrated stream of dragfire directly into the tunnel's mouth.
The heat was so intense that the stone itself began to melt, flowing like lava. The Shedun still within had nowhere to run, caught between those behind them and the deadly fire ahead.
Onyx banked hard to the left, avoiding a projectile, and another one of our dragons took his place, focusing his remaining dragfire on the tunnel opening.
The strategy was working. The tunnel walls began to sag, and then with a thunderous boom, the tunnel collapsed in on itself, burying any Shedun still inside.
But that was only one breach sealed. Across the city, similar battles were being fought at other breach points, with varying degrees of success.
The Shedun who had already emerged were still pressing forward, pushing toward the residences.
I signaled for my squadron to gain altitude, wanting a broader view of the battle. I also needed to find out how Logan and his dragon were doing.
"Captain Logan Giverti is unharmed," Onyx reported. "His dragon has an injured wing, but he can still remain afloat and assist. He is in no condition to perform diving runs, though."
The other good news was that the ground troops were engaging the Shedun who had penetrated deeper, holding them back from the populated areas. The bad news was that some had managed to break through.
Our ability to assist the city defenders was limited, and they would have to chase the Shedun down and eliminate them using conventional means in house-to-house fighting.
I signaled for my squadron to descend to a small plaza where a drastically dwindled unit of Elucian ground forces was making its last stand against an overwhelming force of Shedun invaders. If the line broke here, the consequences would be devastating, but dragfire wasn't an option at this point.
There wasn't much we could do from the air while dragfire reserves were depleted, and with the tunnel's collapse, our sector was secured from the arrival of Shedun reinforcements.
So that was one less worry. The best thing for us to do right now was to assist the unit on the ground, which was about to be overrun, and prevent a breach into the residential area behind it.
We landed behind the Elucian troops, who stood in a tight formation, forming a wall against the advancing Shedun.
"Commander Nidar," their captain called out, recognizing me as I dismounted. "Your timing is impeccable."
I nodded. "My riders will reinforce your line. The dragons will provide what support they can, but they can't use dragfire with buildings so close."
"They are still a great deterrent," he said. "The Shedun fear them."
I signaled my squadron to dismount and form up alongside the ground troops. The dragons arranged themselves behind us, their massive bodies and gleaming teeth a formidable second line of defense.
We opened fire, but for every Shedun down, more seemed to appear. They fought with the desperate ferocity of fanatics with nothing to lose, seemingly willing to die for their abhorrent cause. And die they did, by the dozens, then by the hundreds as we continued our relentless defense.
The battle raged on, the sky gradually lightening with the first hints of dawn.
My arms ached from hoisting my rifle and from the endless rounds of fire I released, and those around me were in no better shape, but the relentless tide of Shedun, which had seemed to have no end, was finally ebbing and dying out.
The remaining tunnels had all been collapsed by other squadrons, and most of the worms were eliminated. With all the breach points sealed, the Shedun who had made it into the city were blocked, cornered, and in the process of being dispatched back to the hell from which they had been spawned.
As the last pockets of resistance were mopped up, I finally had a moment to consider the miracle that had happened here tonight.
Thanks to Kailin's warning, Podana was saved. The losses the Shedun suffered in fighters and worms in this one night were staggering and could affect their ability to mount full-scale attacks for some time to come.
Tonight was a huge victory for the forces of light. A victory made possible by a first-year cadet.
Why had I been privy to her dreams, though?
I wasn't a shaman.
Could it be that she was so powerful that she affected everyone she was close to?
I'd been personally training her for over a month now, but the connection I felt to her went deeper than that, dating back to the night I first saw her, a sixteen-year-old girl standing amidst the carnage of a Shedun raid, rifle in hand, eyes defiant despite the fear I knew she'd felt.
It would be interesting to find out whether Alar and Shovia had dreamt along with Kailin. After all, they were much closer to her than I was.
Despite being already awash with adrenaline from the hours-long battle, thinking about the potential of Kailin's power and its ramifications for Elucia's future, a rush of excitement and awe washed over me.
My Little Warrior was not so little anymore. She might be Elucia's best shield against the forces of darkness.