• Daniel charged through the torrent of water consuming the town. Rain, specked with hale, enveloped his vision, obscuring it to opaque after the first few meters. The maelstrom of ice and water did not deter him from going back. For if his solidity wavered for a mere second the murky waters would suck him down to the dark depths and Suzanne would be lost. If she was lost, Daniel would not go on. If she was lost, the last symbol of hope for mankind would be blackened to despair. If she was lost, so was everything.

    Daniel finally approached the failing strong house. It seemed to be hit more by the meteorites than the surrounding houses, and it was. They were attacking it; each chunk of debris diverted its path in midair to attack the building. Fist sized bits of stone flew off the stronghouse only to fling themselves straight back at the foundations.

    Daniel did not stop in caution of the flying debris as the larger chunks would curve round him while the smaller chunks bounced harmlessly of his thick leather clothes. He drew up to full height before entering through the decaying hallway.
    He found her in the living room, dressed in travelling gear that concealed her true identity from wondering eyes. She looked imposing even in these humble garbs. Daniel felt an uncanny urge to bow down to her, which he did.

    "M'am, we must leave immediately before the building caves in." Daniel ground out, unused to being humble. Suzanne nodded her head in both greeting and agreement.

    "Then we shall leave, I assume you have the key?" she replied, and once Daniel showed her, she walked silently out and down the stairs opposite. They did not worry for the townsfolk as they had left several weeks prior to the attack. The only reason Daniel and Suzanne remained was to prevent the townsfolk being tracked down beside them. They had to know Suzanne was here, and not with them, or the townsfolk, every man, woman and child would be put to the slaughter.

    As they emerged in the dim glow of the cellar, a loud hissing of steam spewed from one of the numerous pipes and pulleys opposite the stair. In front of them stood, ten feet tall, a huge circular door that seemed to be a blend of rock and metal. Daniel strode towards it and pulled out the key. It looked like three keys stuck together, each with enough points for eight tumblers. As he turned it in the lock, the room exploded with noise. Steam screeched through every pipe as it struggled to open the adamantine door. Without hesitating, Daniel and Suzanne hurried through the door into the thick mist.

    The tunnel seemed to sparkle as they briskly walked through it. The adamantine of door was evidently used to line the tunnel as it would need only two centimetres to withstand the pressure of rock above. As they walked down the square tunnel, Daniel watched Suzanne from behind. Daniel had done great things during the war. He had saved many an army and defeated many a foe, but yet his deeds paled to insignificance besides Suzanne. She had achieved what whole armies couldn't. She had achieved what the council of the continents couldn't. She had got close enough to kill Poliat, but she had to turn back as the nearby volcano, where Poliat’s inventions of war were smithed, abruptly exploded due to her exploits there only days before.

    Eventually, they reached the vessel that would carry them across the sea and into Sarangade to meet with the council. The boat was one of recent design, with wings to stabilise the boat once it reached the higher speeds of fifty knots. Suzanne clambered aboard, with Daniel following, and took the helm as though she'd being practicing it all her life. As the boat eased out of the cave it rose slowly on a downwards pointing wing which ended in a tiny flat level on the water about an inch in diameter, which helped prevent it from falling over.

    Once they were out to sea, Suzanne locked the helm and strode over to Daniel, who was staring out at the now burning town that he had been born and raised in. He did not cry but he showed his mourning by taking of his necklace, with the insignia of his town, and burning it in the same way the town was. Once taken, no town was ever rebuilt, and the proud histories of his people were disappearing with the smoke.

    "It's never easy when your home town goes. You feel sorrow for when other towns are lost but it is nothing before the sorrow of your own." Suzanne said with a faraway look in her eye.

    "I'll be fine. We saved the people of the town and from that my people will live on." Daniel replied, though he knew his people will be scattered and without a place to call their own.

    "Well, you're representing them once we get to Sarangade and I trust I'll have your support?" Suzanne motioned for Daniel to go inside with her.

    "Of course, Milady. You are half the reason Poliat hasn't already won. I know you have a brilliant plan which the dithering leaders of the council will detest immediately, but you can count on the support of the people." Daniel said humbly, hoping Suzanne would give a clue to her plan, which she evidently wasn't inclined to do as she went to the kitchen to make lunch.

    Rays of light glittered off the water, turning it yellow with sunrise, as they coasted into the marble harbour of Sarangade. Daniel leaned over the railing as he marvelled at the beauty of the city. Sarangade was the centrepiece of the once shining kingdom of man. Its granite walls were carved, over the years, into beautiful figures. But the carvings only went a few inches deep, to prevent weakening of the structure. Inside, the cities stretched on for miles, most of the outer buildings were made of traditional wood and plaster but in the inner circle, protected by another wall, all the buildings, from palaces to stables were marble and pink granite.

    Suzanne created a series of complex hand signals to one of the guard towers that stood at each side of the harbour mouth. The harbour was designed to be able to be drained within twenty seconds if the need arose, which would prevent the passengers of any vessel scaling the slick walls to reach the city. Once past customs, Daniel turned to Suzanne.

    "Will we get a few days rest before we have to see the council? My wounds need healing, both physical and mental." Daniel enquired hopefully.

    "I am afraid not. The official reported that the southern armies of Poliat have started to march towards Sarangade. We will need to depart before they arrive in four days time. We will need two of those to convince the council and at least one to prepare for the journey." Suzanne replied, still leaving Daniel in the dark about her plan. She walked of in the direction of the city palace, where she and Daniel's accommodations would have been prepared.

    "Then why aren't you going straight to the council chambers?" Daniel argued.

    "Because the council leaders won’t hear anybody who is not clean, well clothed and generally presentable." Suzanne replied, quelling Daniel into silence. As she shut the door on her chambers, Daniel retreated to his own room to prepare for the council meeting. He had little knowledge of how hard it would be to sway the council as he did not know just how rash Suzanne's plan would be.

    Daniel did not wait for Suzanne as it was not custom for two representatives to enter any meet together for that led to council divisions. The council members entered at thirty second intervals, for a long forgotten reason, and the differences between the different cultures showed in their dress, mannerisms and even facial features. A small squat figure that represented the people of Tarachiq, an industrial minded people who dug out the mountains in their lands to make weapons and armour, greeted Daniel and showed him to his seat.

    The council was unusually well attended. All the chairs, except those of decimated races, were filled. The whole room seemed to feel that this was to be a turning point in the war, or a last desperate strike. All, except those at a large table of marble with gold leaf decorations covering the legs and rim.

    Once the last of the members entered, a tall, wiry figure wearing a long flowing gown, a man dressed in local garb stood up and called the meet into silence. The room seemed to lean in towards the centre as Suzanne gracefully thanked the head of the council and turned towards the room.

    "We are called here today as what may be the last ever meet of the council," Suzanne began, to mutterings amongst those deluded towards the situation of man. "Poliat has forced us back until our heartlands are now our frontiers. He has destroyed many races and cultures that may never recover," She said with a gesture towards the empty seats. "Yet we still have strength, albeit fading fast. We still have strength for one last attempt. If we manage to strike at Poliat, take out his shrivelled heart and put it on display for the Kqarv, they will fall back into Wqarvenine forests. The Kqarv are not a war faring people. They would rather be in their treetops and work on their mancery than achieve global conquest. Poliat's campaign hurts them too and they would betray him if they could find the courage."

    Daniel wished she would get on with it, although he knew it was necessary to make a long winded speech to the council. He tuned out for a while as he felt a pang of longing for his hometown. He suddenly remembered his father telling him about adamantine e, and how his people are the only people that can smith it successfully. Adamantine was the strongest substance known to man but even his town, which had mined and smithed it for centuries, could only make it in small quantities.

    "As you all know, I have gotten close to Poliat before, but I was stopped by Poliat's volcano erupting. I have spent the last few years researching volcanoes and they all seem to be linked underground. What I have realised is that what we stand on, the crust of the earth, is held up by a huge layer of magma several miles deep. This means that we can enter one volcano and travel to another. But we will need a vessel that can withstand the heat and pressure of the magma. The only substance that can do that is adamantine. Which is why I was in Luleke researching it. If we can find a way to smith enough adamantine to create such vessels, we can load it with enough troops to destroy Poliat while he's at work creating his cursed inventions. The townsfolk of Luleke were instructed to come here when they were evacuated and they have arrived safely. Paul Mithril believes he has found a way to create adamantine in large enough quantities to make seven of these mantleships which would carry a total of seventy passengers and equipment."

    Daniel looked at Suzanne in disbelief unable to take it all in. His people were here in Sarangade and he wasn't even told. Not only that but she planned to exploit his people's abilities in making the "mantleships". Daniel glared at Suzanne in a sudden rage. She let him think that his people were lost and did not even tell him they were here. To think that he was preening and cleaning when he should have been reunited with the people of Luleke! However, he realised, his decision would decide the future of the human race. If he refused, they would fight as they always have and lose. If he agreed, there would be a good chance of winning. Daniel made his mind up and stood. Suzanne gestured for him to speak.

    "I agree to the use of my townsfolk's abilities in aid of creating these mantleships in the condition that I am allowed to join the venture. We need a plan that'll take Poliat by surprise and give us the chance to put a sword or arrow through his throat. Poliat's mancery will make him more than a match for even seventy men, which is why we will need some other form of attack to win the struggle. I suggest we use heavy artillery somehow. Mancery may block an arrow but it cannot withstand an eight tonne lump of magma. We can make the artillery out of adamantine and mithril cable which will be encased in an adamantine tube." Daniel spoke like a true soldier, blunt and to the point. He sat down and waited for the uproar, which was to be expected, to begin. It didn't. The head of the council stood up and began his speech.

    "My friends, we have been presented with a mad idea that seemed to be more a child's fantasy than reality. Yet, we have fought like we have always fought up till now and look where we are. Here today we have been given a beacon of hope and whether or not we grasp at it is yet to be decided. We have endured for many long years. Every time he attacks, we endure. But what do we endure for? A miracle. But unless we make our own miracles we are lost to the world. So I call on you today, not as the head of the council but as a human being, support Suzanne and cast your vote!" Hugdan sat down; all signs of old procrastination had left with his speech. The vote was counted and tallied. All but the tall, wiry man in long robes voted for Suzanne's case.

    It only took two days to build the mantleships. Suzanne had them working without a break, apart from meals and use of the restroom, the whole time. The mantleships were each propelled by twenty small propellers. If they used fewer propellers, with larger blades, the resistance would be too great for them to turn. The mantleships were in the shape of a dart, with a long, thin nose to cut into the magma and streamline the vessel. A catapult was mounted, on every mantleship, that relied on the magma for ammunition.

    It only took one day for them to find the seventy people to join them on the voyage. Suzanne disappeared for half the day to round up ten strong mancers; who she hoped would significantly weaken Poliat's mancery. Daniel took a detachment t of about forty swordsmen, who were also skilled archers, from the garrison of Sarangade. They took seven pilots and seven catapult operators. The four left over spaces were filled by mechanics that could travel, through the extendable tunnels, from one mantleship to another.

    Meanwhile, Hugdan oversaw the preparations for the siege of Sarangade. Contrary to his mannerisms of years, he worked with vigour and intelligence that contrasted hugely to his old, dithering self. Once Suzanne was finished with Paul Mithril and his team, Hugdan set them to work on creating adamantine bolts that would be inserted into the huge walls of Sarangade to strengthen them. He also took advantage of the adamantite stores to replace the mithril locks on the steel gates. Sarangade only needed to last about a week before Suzanne would bring the head of Poliat and scatter the southern army of Kqarv but Hugdan seemed to feel he had to hold out for months. While the Sarangadiens retreated into the inner city, they must have been marvelling at how well they had built their city.

    By the time the last sunlight of the third day was fading, they voyage had been prepared. Suzanne was giving, yet another, morale raising speech while Daniel made some last minute checks upon the mantleships. After satisfying himself that there would be no leaks, he clambered into his temporary bed in the camp just outside of Tarenel. The mantleships had been hauled across to Tarenel straight after construction. The village of Tarenel lay at the foot of Taresvius volcano and enjoyed good harvests year on year. They planned to enter through one of the numerous side vents that flowed freely into the sea. This was convenient as there was no need to modify the mantleships for underwater entry.

    Daniel only realised just what he had signed himself up for when he was about to get into the mantleships and able to stare straight into the molten rock. He was going to be submersed in magma. The boiling hot, destroy all in its path, variety. And once they were in there would be no going back. He had a feeling that everybody on this voyage was fee ling the same sickness that he was. The tension in the main cabin of his mantleship must of equalled that of the rock above where he was about to go.

    They slid down a ramp into the water, when the mantleship came alive. Blue and green dashboards appeared at the front of the mantleship. About seven pressure gauges flicked up to the first line. A whirring noise rose as the twenty propellers started up and the ship started moving through the water. Daniel scanned the other nine voyagers on his mantleship. A host of anxious faces met his eyes.

    Daniel could only tell they had entered the magma by a slight decrease in speed that was soon made up by the propellers working their way up to speed. A sputtering cheer went up as the crew realised that they were inside the volcano and still alive.
    Black fumes spewed from the many furnaces that were spread around Poliat’s volcano workshop. His Kqarv workmen were working with tireless fervour as they came close to their greatest invention yet. One that would lift them to the very skies and be able to hold them there for extended periods of time. It would crush humanity in a matter of weeks and allow Poliat to finally bring union and order to this lawless world. Poliat was doing humanity a favour through his long, tireless campaign; they needed a guiding hand to prevent them from leading themselves to ruin. The fatal flaw in humanity was it could not lead itself without being led to destruction. They were like children, they would resist superior authority in any way they could.

    Poliat knew the flaws of humanity; by not being one of them he could see them clearly. He knew the flaws of the Kqarv; they could not lead themselves at all. At least humans tried to find a leader among them, the Kqarv would never be able to come together in any force if left to their own devices. Poliat brought strength to the Kqarv; once brought together, their collective knowledge and strength was staggering. He was brought back to the present by a spitting of liquid crystal from the pot beside him. Cursing himself for his idleness, he quickly got back to shaping the crystal through spell and tools. His hands became a blur as they moulded the crystal into a hollow sphere. He stopped muttering for a minute, praying the crystal would not shatter, and for a moment he thought it worked. This time it held out for a whole minute before shattering into tiny particles. He cursed in frustration and stormed out to rework his plans.

    The mantleships stopped for the night so the crew would be rested and well for the attack on Poliat. The mantleships gave a dull hum as their internal heat panels recharged from the magma’s heat. The ships connected through the extendable tunnels so last minute adjustments to the plan could be made. After dinner, Daniel searched out Suzanne to force her to explain every single detail of this plan. He was not going to let her keep him in the dark about any detail that he should know.

    E2Why didn’t you tell me about the people of Luleke being safe in Sarangade?” Daniel asked, not even bothering to greet her.

    “Because you would have raced off to make sure they were all okay. I needed you in that council chamber to make sure you approved the plan. Without the Luleke adamantine, we wouldn’t be here. You have to put humanity first, Daniel.” Suzanne replied, as though she thought Daniel to be unable to see reason when faced with adversity.

    “You didn’t have to keep me in the dark about it. If you explained it to me I would have understood. Anyway, are there any major changes in the plan?” Daniel enquired, still pressing Suzanne for answers in case she was keeping anything back.

    “No. We’re still relying on surprise tactics. If we can rush him before he has a chance to respond we stand a good chance of winning. I think you need some rest Daniel, you’ll need your strength tomorrow.” Suzanne said, before retreating to her own bunk. Daniel decided to follow suit and returned to his mantleship. His face was lined with wrinkles from anxiety as was everyone else. They were all deeply worried that Poliat knew they coming for him. Nobody knew what sort of devices would be used against them during the attack. As he lay in his bunk, he realised just how much of a last-ditched attempt this attack was.

    Poliat stood over the blackened furnace, once again his hands were moving over a floating ball of crystal. Once again his hands became a blur as his hoarse whispers sounded, unnaturally loudly, throughout the room. He was sure it would work this time. The last piece was nearing completion and then the war would finally be over. His hands stopped as the crystal stopped moving. It lowered itself gently onto the work surface. Poliat stood over it, not even blinking, as he watched and waited to see if it would shatter like all the rest. He counted a minute, then two before he let out his held breath. It had worked. The final piece to the ultimate invention was complete. He could barely contain himself as his hands moved over it, checking for imperfections. He did not notice that the rest of the workers were staring into the heart of the volcano. He did not notice the wonderment on their faces. He did not even notice the seven long, slender moss-green noses slowly poking out of the volcano. It wasn’t until one of the workers raised the alarm and the un-ignorable continuous ringing flooded the room that he looked up from the crystal.

    As Poliat’s gaze found the centre of the room’s attention, seven huge balls of lava flew out of the volcano as they made their way towards where he was standing. He hastily raised a shield around him and his workers an instant before the lava splattered across the shield and dripped down onto the floor. There was an eerie silence for a second before it was split by the loud twang of bows, followed by the cries of his workers that had walked out of his protection. As he felt his shield slip as if it was being drained away, another volley of lava slammed into it, destroying the last of his workers while splattering his boots with liquid death. Out of the corner of one of his eye’s he saw his guard file into the room along with several of his militia, out of the other he saw seven moss-green snouts raised above the noise and destruction. He did not even try to destroy the attacking vessels; nothing he could throw at them would equal that of the volcano’s trials. His guard were now charging the occupants of the vessels; they formed a ring round them with shields and spears held protectively out. A huge battle roar added to the host of aggressive noises surrounding him. He watched as about forty swords men charged through his guard and militia. He tried to turn, but he found he was rooted to the spot, partly due to sheer terror, partly due to an alien source holding down that could only be mancery. Sure enough, ten mancers charged out, not taking their eyes of him for a mere second, and their hold on him doubled. His gaze returned to the swordsmen, only about twenty remained but that was more than enough to destroy his defenceless self. They were on him in an instant; he felt every single blade rip through his flesh as the swordsmen left nothing to chance. He closed his eyes and mourned for his failure. It ripped him apart to have been so close and have had it torn out of his grasp in the last second. He felt a sword bite into his neck; it did not stop until it was out the other side. Poliat may have known everybody else’s weaknesses, but he could fathom his own. He did not know their strengths, and that was his weakness.

    Daniel got out the mantleship just in time to see Poliat’s head roll onto the floor. Suzanne picked it up as a horde of Kqarv marched into the chamber. For once she did not use her great ability to sway a crowd through speech. She just stood there, silently, holding up Poliat’s head before the Kqarv, who had spread out menacingly in front of the voyagers. The Kqarv simply stood, staring at Poliat’s severed head, taking in the repercussions. One Kqarv slowly kneeled down and laid his weapon upon the floor, followed by the rest. The first to lay down his weapon stepped forwards and entered in quiet discussion with Suzanne for what seemed to be an eternity, none of the voyagers relaxed an inch, having learnt fear of the strange Kqarv through their deeds in the name of Poliat.

    As Suzanne predicted, without Poliat’s control over the Kqarv, they soon returned to giving the level of hospitality that was their custom before the war. The voyagers, however, did not trust them and stayed in a tight group while their transport back to Sarangade was arranged. Daniel watched the dazed look on the voyager’s faces as they went about their tasks. They could not take in what they had achieved, and the relative ease of their attack on Poliat. They simply could not take in that the war was over thanks to them. Daniel did not feel the awe at his deeds that the rest did. And as soon as they were far away from the Kqarv, he left the convoy without warning and rode to Luleke to rebuild it, leaving only a note that read “Send my people back and do not manipulate them again.” the knowledge of adamantine was entrusted to Luleke and he would not allow it to be abused. Suzanne watched him ride across the plains and whispered her gratitude softly before allowing herself to rest properly for the first time in years.