Call of the Abyss [Book 2 Complete]

Silence reigned about the table for several minutes, everyone contemplating the issues and the solution brought forward, before a sigh from Ithshar brought attention back to the present.

"You are right that the Assembly will not be supportive of this plan. To be honest, I think it is almost a moot discussion since the Assembly will likely hear nothing of this kind of strategy.

"This is not a strategy that the Zal'Nadir could complete on its own—we lack both the personnel and authority to issue the withdrawal and oversee it. We would need the Assembly to implement it," she finished while shaking her head.

"I figured that would be a challenge. There is another avenue for trouble as well," Julia said, pausing to emphasize the importance.

"The spy. I presume no one has had any success in figuring out how the Nashiin obtained such priority targets so suddenly?" she asked.

Everyone around the table shook their heads, accompanied by some mutterings of "...couldn't find anything suspicious," and "...no trail to follow."

"Right, as I mentioned, this strategy hinges on the leaders taking the bait and attacking the city with their full force. They must think us desperate and weak.

"I would wager that they don't care much for their troops' lives—being undead—so if they simply count the losses as acceptable and maintain the blockade even amidst our precision strikes on their camps…well, we can keep picking at them, but we'll run out of troops long before they will.

"This means that word of our plan cannot reach the Nashiin—under any circumstances. This will be hard to accomplish considering it involves evacuating the entire marsh," Julia reasoned.

"It would be possible to keep the purpose for the evacuation secret, but we risk igniting a panic," said a man seated near Ithshar, across from Julia.

A woman at the other end of the table nodded.

"Indeed, if we position the evacuation as a response to the other settlements being attacked, that will maintain a facade of panic and desperation—as you want, Julia. This will mean that even if word reaches the Nashiin, it will still serve our purpose of painting ourselves as a weak target.

"However, the citizens will see this as well. They may actually become panicked and do irrational things—like attempt to break through the blockade and flee the marsh, rob their neighbors of supplies, or any number of things that people do when gripped by desperation and fear," the woman said grimly.

Julia nodded with her arms crossed. She had no real solutions for this, and it was a valid point. She'd read much about disasters that panicking masses could wreak, especially during a siege.

Seyatha, having been mostly silent up to this point in the discussion, spoke.

"It seems to me that there are no other solutions anyone has to put forward?" she asked. As heads around the table shook, she continued. "Then let us, all those present at this table, vote.

"A vote of 'aye' will be in favor of Julia's proposal, and should it be accepted, we will move forward with a discussion about how to convince the Assembly of its necessity, as well as all the logistics that will come with implementing it.

"A vote of 'nay' will be a vote against this particular proposal. Should the 'nays' be the majority, we will attempt to come up with a different solution to end the conflict. Should no proposal be forthcoming, we will adjourn and reconvene a few days hence to discuss once again. We will do this until a proposal is put forward that the majority accept.

"Does everyone understand the purpose of the vote, understand its stakes, and consent to follow the will of the majority—even should the vote be against your personal position?" she asked, looking at everyone around the table one at a time.

When nods were returned by all, she raised her hand.

"All in favor of enacting the proposal before us, say 'aye,'" she commanded.

Clang!

Julia's blade met the strangely-strong wood of Ithshar's staff. The sword was deflected off to the side as the other end of the staff came up and struck Julia in a place that likely would've taken her out of the fight if she were a man.

"Oof—" she exhaled painfully before a kick straight to her chest sent her skidding backward across the smooth stone.

"You fight like one who has been in many life-or-death struggles. You bet everything on single strikes. What will you do if you meet an opponent for whom your strikes are not threatening?" Ithshar said casually, not even breaking a sweat.

"Your armor prevents bladed weapons from cutting you, but the blunt force from my staff will rattle you inside of it. My staff's reach is greater than your arming sword. I have fought for hundreds of years. The odds are against you. What will you do?" she questioned calmly as she approached.

After the council of Zal'Nadir approved her idea of drawing the Nashiin leaders out (with only a few dissenting opinions), arrangements had to be made to submit the proposal to the Assembly. That was all official documentation and politics, so Julia was left with a bit of freetime.

Ithshar had volunteered to train with her, which surprised Julia—apparently, Ithshar had nothing more pressing

"You, Braden, and Ravina. No one who wants to train with me allows me to use magic," Julia whined, which made Ithshar—still approaching slowly—chuckle.

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"It is almost as though there is a reason for it," she said with a smile.

"Your sword work is your foundation. It does not matter how fancy the house built atop it if the foundation itself crumbles under pressure," she explained, still approaching.

She suddenly rushed in, sweeping her staff low to strike Julia's legs out from under her. Julia quickly stepped back before planting herself and stepping forward in a thrust.

Ithshar pivoted mid-sweep, using the momentum from the top of the staff to swing it in an arc backward and knock Julia's thrust down.

Julia saw a window—just a brief one—where Ithshar's arms were extended and her guard high. She took her left hand off the handle of her sword and sent a quick punch toward Ithshar's chest.

Ithshar released the staff with her left hand and deflected Julia's fist with an open palm strike to her arm. Her fist passed harmlessly to the side, and Ithshar grabbed her staff with both hands again as Julia withdrew her sword and fist. She just stepped back in time to avoid a retaliatory sweep from the staff.

"Getting close is a good idea. You need to be thinking about space and how to control it. My staff is at least twice as long as your sword, so while I can dominate mid-range, the weapon itself might become a hindrance if you invade my guard," Ithshar said, stepping forward to follow Julia's retreat.

"You have experience fighting Nashiin, but you must learn to fight people, too. We are not undead possessed of a casual disregard for our own well-being. Most of us do not have the tactical rigidity that the Nashiin do, either.

"We will adapt and evolve during the fight. We will change our tactics to fit our opponents, and you must as well," she lectured.

She took a powerful step forward and thrust the end of her staff toward Julia's midsection. Such a thrust was unexpected—the staff's reach was closer to a spear's when used this way.

Julia stepped to the side, and the staff stabbed the air next to her hard enough that she could feel the displaced air against her skin. She grabbed the staff with her left and yanked, intending to catch Ithshar off guard and make her stumble.

Instead, Ithshar let Julia pull both her and the staff forward, closing the distance even quicker than if she'd run. Julia released the staff, but before she could get an appropriate guard up, Ithshar flicked her forehead.

"Ouch," Julia complained.

"A decent tactic, but you do not think far enough ahead. What was your plan if you managed to make me stumble?" Ithshar asked. She pulled her staff back and set its end upon the floor, holding it like a walking stick.

"Uh…hit you?" Julia replied lamely, which made Ithshar chuckle—again.

"Correct me if I am mistaken, but you began this spar thinking a few moves ahead, but after just a few exchanges, you found it difficult to continue that forethought, yes?" she asked, and Julia nodded.

"This is a problem. When you cannot think ahead, you fall into passive defense. Defense is important, but you will never defeat your opponent with it. You must take action. What you were doing was just reacting, not fighting.

"It is not just planning a few moves ahead, either. You must also plan contingencies—how you will respond if your enemy counters your moves," Ithshar explained.

She must have seen the despondent look that undoubtedly crossed Julia's face.

"Ha, rest assured, Julia. This is a skill like any other. It can be trained and mastered just as surely as your magic," she laughed.

"Your combat with the Nashiin has made you imbalanced as a fighter. We must drill this out of you, as the Nashiin are not the only enemies you will face," she concluded.

"...things would go differently if I could use magic," Julia grumbled.

Ithshar looked at her with the patient look a parent might give to their child.

"Would you like to spar with magic? Just once, to see how it would go?" she asked.

Julia's eyes lit up—apparently, that was answer enough, as Ithshar chuckled and took a ready stance after making some distance.

"Come. I will show you why your foundation is more important than anything resting on top of it," she commanded.

Julia lowered her sword to her chest, holding it in-line with her body. She subtly—trying not to alert Ithshar—lowered her mass, and she began to accumulate mana at her back. After less than a second, she burst forward with speed she wouldn't have been able to react against herself—gravity propelling her like a meteor.

She rocketed forward, sword held tight against her chest, aiming to strike with the pommel—just enough to score a hit, not cause harm.

However, Ithshar suddenly wasn't present in her vision at all. It was as though Julia had blinked and she'd disappeared—only Julia didn't blink. She didn't need to do bodily things like that as a spirit, so she intentionally avoided them during battle—anything to give herself even a minor edge over an opponent.

Suddenly, and without any time to react, a staff smashed into Julia's head. Ithshar must have sidestepped just in time—Julia hadn't even registered the movement before pain exploded across her temple—and struck her head like a baseball.

Julia hadn't cared much for the sport when Braden tried to teach her, preferring her own ways to train her Attributes as a child. Batting form was suddenly looking a lot more useful than she initially gave it credit for, though.

She flipped over herself twice before hitting the ground in an uncontrolled roll, coming to a stop when her back hit the far wall—she'd tumbled all the way across the entire training room, apparently.

Realistically, a blow to the head was no more dangerous to Julia than anywhere else. Her thoughts weren't there—they were in her core. However, Julia still felt like she was in there—like her consciousness existed within her head—so she was disoriented for a few moments once her body came to a stop.

"To be clear, all I did was put my staff in your path. Your own momentum did everything else for me," Ithshar said with a clear smile in her tone.

"Ugh…ow," Julia muttered, rolling onto her back and looking at the ceiling—no, at Trixy's face. She'd been circling the ceiling during the spar, but must've swooped down when she saw Julia take the hit.

"I'm alright—it's not even close to the worst blow I've taken," Julia chuckled, petting Trixy's head as she nuzzled Julia's cheek.

"Is there anything more I need to say about foundations? I suspect it has been pounded into your flesh, at this point," Ithshar said, arms crossed over her chest.

"Haa—I'll work to improve my fighting abilities without magic," Julia sighed.

It's not that she'd ever doubted Ithshar's or Ravina's words about training without magic. She just wanted to have some fun with it!

If sparring with magic was going to be this depressing, maybe sticking with her sword wasn't such a bad idea after all.