Chapter 14
“In the writings of all men can be heard faint echoes of their beliefs and values.”
-- Sento of Yang
Fangshao stood before the rest of the Nobles. They were in the Arkhaios base, only an hour’s flying time from the sea of the soft skins, assembled to discuss the course of the war. A very few minor Nobles were still in the crystal pyramid, surrounded by hunting groups, seeing to the administration of the upper sea. All others were here, eager to be in on the kill, knowing that secret alliances and plots among the Nobles were being played out.
“Our ammunition runs low,” said Fangshao. “Arrows are of little effect against soft skins when they cower beneath their shields. I myself have tried to crush their chariots with metal spheres; they move fast and are difficult to hit. We will need a thousand more spheres to even begin the task.”
“You fought alone,” replied Vardonus, his main rival among the greater Nobles. “When I lead us into battle, we will attack in formation, dropping our spheres at the sound of a horn. The resulting pattern of spheres will blanket the battlefield.”
“It won’t work,” said Fangshao. “Their chariots will disperse. I’ve seen how fast they move. They won’t ride in a straight line and wait to be destroyed. My point, however, is that we will run out of spheres soon.”
“More Benthics,” said Vardonus, “have been raised from your old proving grounds, Fangshao, and placed on land to work the forges and furnaces.” It was a clever barb and a personal insult.
“Yes,” replied Fangshao. “I, however, understand the nature of warfare. The enemy will rebuild their chariots as fast as we destroy them. They are great builders, and will struggle against us to their utmost.”
“Over time, we will decimate their ranks, killing any that move when we are about.” Vardonus spoke to the assembled group, raising his voice, knowing full well that his comments would influence their decisions. “As their population dwindles under our assaults, we will build a vast Arkhaios pit outside the southern sea, much closer than our current one. From there we can raid them continuously, whittling away at them until they surrender.”
“They show little sign of surrender,” said Fangshao. “Instead they stand and fight, lifting their bows to the sky when they should be kneeling.”
“Well said, for a Noble with muck on his fins,” replied Vardonus. “Have you forgotten that our Enhancers produce more Arkhaios as we speak? Another of the green Arkhaios is swollen with young.”
“It will be years before they are fully grown and capable of flight. The soft skins will have hatched a new generation of their own kind by then, and they breed far faster than the Arkhaios.”
Vardonus folded his arms over his metal chest plate. “What do you suggest? An invasion, before we are ready?”
“No,” said Fangshao. “We must not meet their chariot army in battle. We should topple their cities and ruin their crops first.”
“We cannot wait a lifetime to starve them out of their great cities. When the time comes, a small army of Benthics must rise out of the sea and draw forth their chariot army. While the Benthics pin them down, the Arkhaios will cast a great net upon them, one so large that several green reptiles will be required to carry it aloft.”
“It will not work,” replied Fangshao. “Certainly, if the net did not unfold it would be useless.”
“The Arkhaios would stretch it out before releasing it,” said Vardonus.
“Then the soft skins would draw their swords and cut their way out of it.”
“What of their chariots?”
Fangshao thought upon it for but a few seconds. “In minutes they would have cut enough of the net to free their chariots. The Benthics would have to slay them all within the span of a few minutes, which would be impossible. There are not enough of our servants to do that.”
“Then the net will be made of fine steel,” said Vardonus.
“So the weight increases? That makes little sense. The charioteers will learn to evade when they see us flying overhead. We need to crush their cities and send them streaming out into the open. Then the Arkhaios can soar through the skies while we slay with our bows and our magic.”
“And how shall we accomplish this?” asked Vardonus.
“By setting everything on fire. There are forests surrounding both seas, and we can dry branches by setting them out into the desert. If a hundred Arkhaios drop branches instead of swords, and we ignite them with flaming arrows, we can destroy an entire city. Other Arkhaios can drop barrels of oil into the flames, spreading the devastation.”
“What of the stone cities?” asked Vardonus.
“Those,” said Fangshao, “can have their fields and cultivated lands burned instead. Barrels of salt dropped onto their fields will ruin their next harvest.”
“A good plan,” said Vardonus grudgingly. The other Nobles watched, sensing the power struggle between the two.
“We must do more,” said Fangshao. “Benthics must be sent to the lower sea, not just Nobles and their hunting groups. The Benthics must scour the bottom of the soft skin sea to drag up the metal spheres and swords that we have dropped.”
“They must never be allowed to enter the lower sea unless our hunting groups are there to control them,” said Vardonus. “Your plan would allow them to escape from our grip.” Anger caused his gills to flex.
“Victory will be elusive if we run out of ammunition. Dropping pillows upon the soft skins will not put them to sleep.”
The group of Nobles laughed, and Fangshao resumed speaking. “If you worry of the Benthics getting a taste of freedom, we can have them search the lower sea, and when they return to the surface we can kill them if we must.”
“But they will not return,” said Vardonus. “They will sink to the bottom of the soft skin sea and forget about the entire war. They will quickly devolve, feasting on kelp and crabs, refusing to return to the surface. Rooting them out with hunting groups would be like opening up a second front.”
“Perhaps,” said Fangshao, “but we need to recover as many projectiles as possible. The soft skins have shown an unwillingness to die in battle. They hide beneath stone arches, or in towers or buildings. We will never root them out if we run out of metal spheres and swords. We can tempt the Benthics to return to us by giving them money for each item they recover.”
“The lower sea,” said Vardonus, “is for Nobles only. We must rule there, and only us. It will become our breeding grounds, allowing us to birth a new generation of Nobles to continue our work.”
“And perhaps overthrow us one day,” muttered Fangshao. “There is another idea that I wish to discuss. It involves a great length of chain that I had the artisans forge for me.” Fangshao described the concept, and even Vardonus was impressed.
When Fangshao finished his explanation, a minor Noble stood and spoke. “The true essence of Nobility is the refinement of the killing arts.”
Fangshao was properly modest, only inclining his head in response.
The assembly broke up and the Nobles mounted their Arkhaios. The reptiles walked to the pile of spheres and took one up in their claws, leaned back onto their hind legs, and launched themselves into the air. Two minor Nobles without mounts removed the length of chain from its wood crate and stretched it out on the ground. Fangshao nudged his silver mount over to one end and the Arkhaios grasped the final link in its claws and reared back. Before it could leap into the air, Fangshao stopped it with a verbal command. His silver mount balanced on its back legs, poised and ready. Vardonus brought his massive green Arkhaios to the other end of the chain, about two good spear throws away. Vardonus had a little trouble with his mount, but assumed the same position, the reptile balancing on its muscular hind legs.
Fangshao raised his gloved hand, paused, then brought it down. Both Tante shouted a command and their mounts leaped, beating their wings and struggling to stay aloft with the chain dangling between them. As their speed built up Fangshao was careful to keep a little slack in the chain. If it suddenly stretched taut the two Arkhaios might come tumbling inwards, losing control and perhaps colliding with each other.
He also drove his mount forward slightly, taking the lead so he could turn first without yanking Vardonus along. The two Tante flew in tandem for an hour, sailing through the cloudless sky. The jewel-like lower sea came into view, a few wooden sailing ships scattered across its surface. One of the truly massive ships sailed nearby, ten times larger than any the Tante had ever built. It had only a single large mast in the center, but one that held three sails stacked one above another. Fangshao pointed to it and Vardonus nodded.
His silver mount was faster, but Vardonus’s brute of a green was almost as quick. Their speed built up considerably in the dive, far exceeding what they could do in level flight. They leveled out just above deck height and swept in, ignoring the swarms of arrows that arced up to intercept them. The ship loomed larger, and saliva slid down from Fanshao’s lips in anticipation. His wide lips parted, his gills flexed. The chain swept across the deck, striking the soft skins and sending their bodies flying. A second before the chain struck the main mast, Fangshao had his Arkhaios release the chain and leap upwards, Vardonus doing the same. The ends of the chain swept the deck of the remaining soft skins. The mast tilted, slowly falling to the side and sliding into the sea, bringing the chain with it.
Fangshao glanced up to see if his work had been observed; several other Nobles flew over him, watching. The success could be entered into the Book of Legends, with his name along side it. The technique could easily be used to clear out the chariot army. If he and Vardonus could lure the chariots out into the desert, the Nobles could skim the ground, flying with a long chain strung between them, toppling chariots and killing the hairy beasts that pulled them. Other Nobles could be trained to do the same, clearing out armies of soft skins that marched to stop the Tante invasion. If the maggots stayed in their cities, the Nobles could drop burning branches upon them. If the soft skins fled their cities, the chain attack would kill them all.
Fangshao saw Vardonus pacing him, watching him. Instantly Fangshao scowled, suspecting a plot. He would have to strike Vardonus and kill him before the other Noble moved against him.