Faylen's view

"You wanted to see me, Faylen?" Desmond asked as he stepped inside my private library. We had been bonded five days ago, but Desmond had had a hard time getting back into our daily routine.

"Yes," I said as I glanced up to see him slide his sword in its sheath. "I need to know the layout of Madun."

"Madun?"

"Is that not where the human king hides?"

"It is, but why would you need to know the layout of the city?" he asked as he walked closer to me.

"Because our next attack will be there and it is easier to plan attacks when I know the lay of the land." He nodded and walked next to me, leaning over the table and taking some charcoal and a piece of paper, drawing on it as he spoke.

"This may not be exact since he may have changed a few things since I was last there, but from my memory this is what you'd see. Starting on the outside, there are farm lands surrounding the city on the south, east, and west. The Ikos River lies to the north and is only crossable by a drawbridge that is controlled from inside the outer city walls. Behind the farm lands stand the outer walls. They're as tall as the walls here, but there are guard stations every 150 feet. There are archers inside those stations and walking along the top of the walls. Under the stations at the top of the walls, there are also stations at the bottom that have swordsmen in them. The most I've seen in either of those stations at any time is 1,000, but that was in all of them combined. The stations next to the gates have bowls with some kind of flamable liquid on top of them. If those get lit, the city knows it's under attack and all the forces go to that gate. Inside the outer walls, there are homes that belong to the shop keepers and other workers in the city. Every home has a Quetzal Jackal in it, and each of the farm lands have two. Standing behind the homes are the shops, supply stores, and smiths. Behind those are the inner walls that surround the castle. There are more archer stations and swordsman stations there, but the biggest battle would be finding your way through the castle to locate the human king. The further any battles get into the city, the more troops there are at the castle. I can draw you a map of the inside, but I fear it wouldn't help as much as I could if I were there."

"Do not worry, Desmond. You will be joining in this battle. All those who have any battle training will be joining."

"When will we strike?"

"In the distant future. You need more training, I would like to create a solid battle plan, and it would be best if Tsarra has a large supply of ingredients on hand to heal any wounded right after." He nodded. "I have not seen your father since our bonding. Is everything alright with him?"

"I saw my mother yesterday and she said that he'd been feeling ill lately so she took him to Tsarra. I haven't heard anything since then. Would you like me to go find him for you?"

"No. You need to return to your training. I will go find him. I finally have something he can help me with. One more thing on Madun," I said as he bowed in preparation to leave. "Do you think it would be wise to send someone into the city to learn of any changes before we attack?"

"I do."

"Who do you think would be the best to send? An elf under the concealment oath, one from Tebury, or a human from Defalls or Dorione?"

"All the people from Tebury or Defalls would be recognized within minutes of their arrival. From what I understand from my father, an elf under the concealment oath would not work as you still appear more beautiful then any human and you cannot lie, which may be required if any of the guards speak to the person you send. That leaves the people from Dorione, but there's no certainty that they wouldn't be recognized either." I nodded and looked at the map he'd drawn me of Madun. "Will that be all, my queen?" I looked up at him and smiled, then pressed our foreheads together.

"I am your bonded mate. You do not need to refer to me as queen and do not need to bow to me, my starlight." I felt happiness wash over me from his mind and sighed. When I backed from him, he pressed a kiss to my temple and tilted my face to his, pressing another to my lips.

"I will return to my training then, my moon beam." I nodded and rolled the paper up into the map of the Old Road system and set them to the side of my table. Deciding to take a minute for myself before going to find Collen, I went to the window and pushed the glass to let in the fresh breeze before leaning on the window and letting out a sigh as I looked up at the sky.

Father and Mother in the endless peace above, I need your guidance. Help me achieve the knowledge to end this war. I am still too young to have gained the knowledge on my own and have lost the two that were responsible for giving me the knowledge. I am left with only those that will give me advice instead of instruction. Please guide me to the knowledge so I may make the best decisions to help my people thrive once more. We do not wish to lose the homes we have come to love so dearly. Please, Father and Mother above. Guide me with your wisdom.

I took a deep breath and blew my plea out the window in a gentle sigh, then turned and headed out of my library to go find Collen. I went to the healing station first, hoping to find either Collen or Tsarra. Walking in, I saw Tsarra and went right to her. "Faylen," she said, bowing her head. I bowed mine in return but motioned at a seat. We sat and she gave me a look of curiosity. "Is something wrong?"

"No, Tsarra. Nothing is wrong. I am planning our next attack, and although it will be in the distant future, I would like for you to begin getting prepared."

"The healing stores are fully stocked."

"I want you to have enough ingredients to begin healing any wounded right after the battle."

"You are expecting it to go that poorly?"

"No, but I would rather our healer be prepared for a large number of all kinds of wounds. Estimate one of each wound for every person that has any battle training." Her eyes grew a bit. "Yes. I want you to be prepared for that amount of healing." She nodded.

"I will take stock of the exact amount of ingredients we have and let you know how long we will need to gather for the health stores to be prepared for that level."

"Thank you." I went to stand to go find Collen, but sat back down and looked at Tsarra as a thought occured to me. "Would it be easier if you already had the broths made? And if so, would they still work as well as they do when fresh?" She looked to the side in thought, then picked a book off the table next to us and flipped through some of the pages.

"I thought I had seen something about that before. Your mother suggested in her notes that a broth that is allowed to sit in a sealed bottle for some time before being used could be stronger than the fresh broth, but I know of no sealing bottles. She did draw some sort of picture, but I have never seen something like this." She turned the book to let me see the picture and I thought for a minute before another idea came to mind.

"Come with me and bring the book. The smiths will need to see the picture." We stood and left the healing station, going straight to the smiths.

"Queen Faylen. I hope all is well," said Arasne.

"Yes it is. I wonder if you might speak with me for a moment."

"Of course." We stepped out of the smiths area and into the field, staying a short distance from everyone to keep our conversation as private as possible.

"There is a chance that our healing broths can become stronger, but we need a sealing bottle to hold them in." Tsarra opened my mother's book to the picture and handed it to Arasne. "Can you create this?"

"I do not see why it cannot be done. Is there a particular material you would like it made out of?"

"Glass would be best so that I can see what broth each bottle contains, but I understand if that is not possible," Tsarra said.

"I am not skilled enough for glass, but Adrion, the smith from Tebury, is quite talented with it. Would you mind if I inquire with him about the possiblity?" I nodded and she handed the book back to Tsarra, then went back into the smiths area, coming out after a minute with Adrion following her.

"Queen Faylen," he said, giving me a low bow. "How may I help you?"

"Adrion, we need to know if it is possible to make a glass bottle that seals. We have a drawing of a bottle, but no idea if it can be made of glass or how to seal it." Tsarra showed him the picture and he looked at it carefully.

"How big would you need the bottle to be?" he asked, still studying the picture.

"Not very large. It only needs to hold premade healing broths, but we need a large number of them," Tsarra said.

"About how tall?" he asked, looking up at her. She held her hands about three inches apart. "And how big around?" She made a circle with her hands showing about two inches. "And you want the bottle to be thinner at the top, just like in this drawing?"

"As long as there is a way to seal it as well, yes," she said.

"Can it be done, Adrion?" Arasne asked. He looked back at the picture for a moment, muttering to himself.

"Glass jar, three inches tall, two inches wide, thin top, wide base, and a way to seal it." He sighed and scrunched his face in thought. "The bottle is no problem. The top to seal it is where I'm getting confused. I should be able..." His eyes widened and he drew in a sharp breath. "Would just a glass ball at the top be enough to seal it?" Tsarra looked at the notes again and flipped a couple pages.

"I do not see why not, but there is nothing in these notes about how to best seal the bottle. Would it be possible to put some sort of point on the ball so that it does not roll off the top of the bottle?" Adrion thought for a moment.

"I can do that. How many would you need?"

"As many as you can make," I said. "If you need additional materials, let me know and I will see what we can do to get them for you." He nodded.

"One more question, Queen Faylen. How quickly do you need them?"

"You have a while. These are to help prepare our healing stores the way I want them before we go to our final battle." He nodded.

"I'm in the middle of making King Desmond's blade, but it should be done by the end of tomorrow. After that, I'll make a bottle and bring it to Tsarra to see if there are any changes that need to be made. If not, I'll make as many as I can."

"Thank you, Adrion. We are very grateful for your knowledge in glass smithing."

"It's my pleasure," he said giving another low bow before walking off with Arasne close behind him.

"Remember to let me know how long you will need to gather all the ingredients to get as prepared as I requested," I said softly to Tsarra.

"I assume you would also like the broths ready to be used as well?"

"That would be best as you would be certain to have enough for all."

"I will inform you of the time needed for gathering the ingredients, then start preparing the broths as soon as I begin getting the bottles from Adrion." I nodded and she headed off toward the healing stores as I headed toward the human area in search of Collen. "Faylen, if you see Collen, will you please have him bring his Monitingo to the healing stores?" came Tsarra's voice in my mind as I reached the human area. "We have a problem in here with a family of Mattuci. They have stolen a large number of the supplies we had in one night."

"I will inform him."

"Faylen," came Collen's voice from behind me as I reached the street his house was on. "What a pleasure to see you. How are you?" he asked as I turned to face him.

"I am well, Collen. Are you better? I heard you were not feeling well lately."

"I'm feeling much better. Tsarra said that my body was running out of energy for some reason."

"Wonderful to hear to that you are doing better."

"I'm sorry I hadn't made it up to see you yet. I was actually heading that way this morning, but I kept getting pulled away by others here."

"It is fine. It was not a pressing matter that I needed to speak with you of. However, I do have a couple things to speak with you about now. Firstly, Tsarra needs a Monitingo at the healing stores. We need to build our healing stores up to a number we have not had for a long time, but there is another family of Mattuci in there and they stole a large number of our supplies in one night."

"I've been working with a couple of the Quetzal Jackals from Tebury, trying to train them. It's been rough since they're older and a bit more stubborn, but I think this will be good for them. I'll take them over tonight so they don't spook from the elves being around. If they don't work out or catch them, I'll take Cloud over in the morning." I nodded. "What was the other thing we needed to discuss?"

"I finally have something you can help with." His eyes brightened a bit and I motioned for him to follow me toward the castle. "I would like to verify the bloodline of all those in Tebury in case any would like to bond with an elf or if there is an elf that would like to bond into Tebury."

"You want to restart the Tebury Bondings?"

"Our people get along quite easily. Well before my father's death, he said the people of Tebury have become a clan within our clan. The time of the Tebury Bondings was one of prosperity for both our people. I would be foolish not to want that time to return," I said, stopping in a quiet spot just outside the human area.

"What would I need to do to verify the bloodline of those from Tebury?"

"Ensure that the names on the scrolls can be followed to those living. I need direct bloodlines that prove someone contains elven blood before they will be allowed to bond with any elf that will have them."

"And I do that by asking about the person's parents and grandparents?" I nodded.

"Just how you were verified. There is also a list at the end of the scroll that can help, but any limitations in there must be followed." He nodded.

"Where would you like me to verify them? At our homes or would you like me to bring them to the castle?"

"The scroll cannot leave the castle so they would have to be brought in for verification. I will have Lanquar aid you in case there are any words you cannot make out in the scroll. I suggest verifying the adults and then add their children to the scroll so they are already verified when they come of bonding age." He nodded again.

"If I don't need to take Cloud to the healing stores, I'll start bringing people to the castle in the morning to verify their bloodlines. If I have to take him, I'll start bringing people the morning after," he said.

"Thank you, Collen. I will inform Lanquar that he is to help you verify all the adults. Remember, if someone cannot be verified, follow the list at the end, but I suggest discovering who all cannot be verified without the list first so you are not going between the two styles until you are finished." He nodded and headed off as I saw Arlette walking toward me. "Hello, Arlette. How are you today?"

"Queen Faylen," she said, giving me a bow. "I'm doing well. Yourself?"

"The same. Actually, it is good that I ran into you. Walk with me for a moment?" She nodded and followed me to the castle and up to my private library. "I am planning our next attack, but when the time gets closer, I will need someone to go into Madun and learn everything possible about any defenses that may have changed from what I have knowledge of."

"I'd be too easily recognized," she said, shaking her head.

"I am speaking to you as I see you as the leader of those from Dorione. I would request this of someone from Tebury or Defalls, but both are small towns and all from them would be recognized. Those from Dorione stand a better chance of being able to safely complete this task."

"Ok, so you just need someone from Dorione, not specifically me."

"Correct. The less recognizable they would be, the better. They may need to lie if a guard speaks to them."

"I'll see who would be happy to sneak into Madun, but how would they know what information you need?"

"I will speak with them directly before they leave." She nodded and looked to the side.

"I know Tarlisa would be happy to help with this, but I would rather not send her. She's the only family I have left."

"There is no hurry on this, Arlette. We will not be attacking Madun for at least six months. Right now, I am only getting us prepared as I have not begun to plan the attack. As I said, the person we send to sneak in will be sent when we get closer to the time of attack. I may even send an escort with them to ensure their safe return."

"Getting into Madun is easy. Getting out would be hard and may require attacking some of the guards."

"No. I want as little warning to them as possible that an attack will be coming. If any guards are killed, the humans will expect an attack." She nodded again but still looked lost in thought. "Take your time to decide who would be best to send, and feel free to ask your people who would like to help. I will seek you out when we need the person to get the information." I walked her out of the castle and watched as she headed back toward the human area, before going to the training grounds to practice some manuevers.

"Tsarra, Collen Timms, and another human are here to see you," said Lanquar the next morning as I looked over the map of the Old Road system, trying to find a route to take us to Madun without actually being on the roads.

"Tsarra first, please. Thank you." I rolled the map up and set it to the side as Tsarra walked in with a paper in her hand. "Good morning, Tsarra."

"Good morning, Faylen. I have a list of all the ingredients that we will need to reach the level of preparation in the healing stores that you wanted. It will take me about three months of gathering every day to collect enough of everything." I sighed and felt my shoulders drop a bit as she handed me the list, showing me that it was indeed a large quantity we needed.

"What if I send more people with you to gather the ingredients?"

"With the amount we need, one person would shorten the time by half a day."

"So if I send ten others with you it would shorten the time by five days?"

"Yes. There are many things we need to replace what the Mattuci stole and to get our stores up where you want them."

"I want to send as many as possible to make the gathering quick, but I do not want to risk the humans suspecting an incoming attack if they catch a large number out gathering." I paced behind my table for a minute as I looked at the list that Tsarra had given me. "Lanquar, what do you suggest? Send many for a quick gather and hope none are seen by the humans or send Tsarra alone and wait for the three months while everything is collected?" I asked, showing him the list.

"We do not have a way to store everything on this list and it would not be wise to send our only healer out of the city alone."

"Tsarra, how long would it take you to make the broths as well?"

"That would take at most one month."

"Would it be best to make the broths all at once or would it be better to fill the stores, make some broths to create more room, and then go gather more ingredients for more broths?"

"The first would be easiest. I can store any overages from the health stores in the healing station, or I can use those ingredients first to make the broths." I walked to my window and pushed the glass open again, leaning heavily on the window.

"May I know why you are trying to build our health stores up so much, Faylen?" Lanquar asked.

"I want Tsarra to have enough to heal a large number of all kinds of wounds right after we attack Madun." He said nothing, but I could feel his surprise. After a while, he let out a sigh.

"May I suggest sending as many as ten to collect everything in place of Tsarra? I would also suggest these ten be battle ready and need no more training," Lanquar said.

"There are four humans that help me in the healing station when needed. I can send them as well," Tsarra offered. "I would also have the humans collect things that can be used on them as the broths and salves we use do not work well on those from Defalls and Dorione." I nodded.

"That is a rather large group to go gathering, and if the humans spot them they could anticipate an attack."

"Very few things are needed from the field between Dragon's Veil and Giwic Keep, but we still need a large supply of those items. I could tell them to go collect those items under the cover of dark. There would be no chance of them being seen then." I looked up at the sky in silence for a few moments hoping for further guidance from above, but heard nothing.

"Do it but tell them to be as careful as possible, and divide this list into equal amounts so we can spread everyone out for a bit more safety. I do not want to give the humans any idea of what we are planning," I said as I turned around. "Lanquar, I need you to stay here and aid Collen in verifying the bloodline of those from Tebury," I said, walking to the shelf and taking out the scroll. "All those that cannot be verified by bloodline will be verified later using the list at the end." He nodded and took the scroll I handed to him. "Tsarra, go notify the humans that aid you in the healing station that they will be going out gathering for some time. I will go find ten that are battle ready to go with them. They will go collect everything they can and return each week so we do not risk losing anyone." She nodded and Lanquar opened the door for us. "Collen, you will be in here with Lanquar as you perform this task. He has been given the same instructions and will aid you as needed," I said, seeing a man I hadn't met standing next to him. "Thank you for helping with this task."

"It's my pleasure, Faylen." I stepped out of the room and watched as Collen stepped in with the man right behind him, but spoke to Lanquar with my mind.

"Collen can read Faejesh. Eliysen taught him. Please help with any words that he cannot understand though."

"As you command, Faylen. Will you need me for anything else today?"

"No. I want as many Teburians verified as quickly as possible. Thank you." I walked off as the door closed and headed out to the training grounds to find some battle ready people that could help gather things for the health stores. I saw Desmond off on the far edge training with Akkar and watched him for a moment.

"His form is improving, but his speed is still too slow," Akkar said in my mind.

"Give him time. His muscles must learn the movements as well, so he may be going slow to help them learn. Speed comes with time for a Hybrid. He is here every day from the moment the sun rises to the moment it falls. Since our bonding, I have even woken a couple times to find him practicing in his sleep." I heard a chuckle in my mind and headed off, searching for people to send gathering. As the sun reached the middle of the sky, I finally found a tenth person to go gathering in place of Tsarra, and sent them to the healing station for information on what they would be gathering.