Spark of War (Progression Fantasy)

They stopped in Pycrin just long enough to form up with the troops, Laze standing ahead of Nidina and Dayne – along with a few wings – as Sol's protection. If the man even really needed it. He was an avatar himself, and as long as the intel stayed true with the Fathom's avatar at the northern ring, they shouldn't have a lot of trouble on Wirock.

Her plan to double-feint seemed to have drawn most of the Depths off the island, which meant they'd have a straight shot to the main ring where the Fathom was trapped. Sneaking in behind enemy lines and destroying small rings as they went, the generals had applauded her plan. Which why was they had more than two thousand groundies with their artillery, the same amount of Pilish soldiers, two dozen wings of Firestorm, two hundred Ashes, and the thirty completed cannonbulls.

It was an overwhelming force for expecting no opposition, as long as they moved fast enough.

And yet, something about it didn't feel like enough.

"You've got that look on your face," Nidina said, while Cannon conferred with the other generals. The one-armed man – for all intents and purposes – would be leading the offensive himself, even with his Boomers part of the mission to shut down the northern ring.

"I feel like I missed something," Laze said. "Like my plan is going to lead us all right into the jaws of a seawyrm. What if it's not perfect?"

"Plans are only perfect until they reach the field," Dayne said. "Then we adapt when they go sideways."

"El's plans don't go sideways," Laze said, and both Dayne and Nidina turned very slowly to look right at her.

"They always go sideways and pear-shaped," Nidina said.

"Even her lunch plans, and she plans those meticulously," Dayne added.

"Your friends are correct," Sol said, his voice cool and somehow soothing. The man's words always had weight to them, no matter what he was saying. Except for his jokes – those needed work. Then again, if he really was as old as he claimed, he'd have a lot of experience to speak from.

"You think my plan is good enough?" she asked the man clad in his Stormbringer armor.

"I was talking about El's plans always going wrong," Sol said seriously. Then he turned and gave her a wink along with a fatherly smile. "Your plan is the best we have, but a longshot. Trust in it to get us started. Then, when things go wrong – as they will – we will trust in you to find us the way forward."

"What if I'm not good enough?" she asked, all that self-doubt she'd managed to push down for the last week bubbling back up.

"Laze," Nidina said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You are. Stop doubting and get leading."

"Besides, we're here to back you up," Dayne said.

"Right." Laze took a deep breath, forcing her reservations out with the air in her lungs. When she took the next breath, she felt a bit calmer. Maybe she could do this. No, she had to. "The biggest thing we need to watch for is the general clickers. Nidina and Dayne, that's your main responsibility. Don't try to take one on solo if you spot one, but those will be our priority targets."

"Got it," Nidina said, turning to the wing she'd been given command of.

Dayne also had a wing he was responsible for, and he likewise went to explain the situation to them. From the looks of things, it took him all of ten words, and the whole wing seemed to have the plan.

With their previous experience against the Depths, they had been given command positions for the operation, and with Cannon barking out orders to ignite the gateway, it was time to see how wise that was.

"Four wings of Firestorm will be going through first to secure the landing zone," Laze opened up her communication magic to the three wings responsible for keeping Sol safe. Three elite wings. "Then the first wave of groundies. We're after that, in case something happens on the other side of the gate, we need to be in position to head for the ring."

With a chorus of 'ready' responding, the group went silent to watch the space within the gate's arches shimmer like rising heat. The next moment, a new background shaped within the gate, the ruins of a destroyed town and rotted bodies piled like firewood in the distance. The smell of it wafted through, strong enough to sneak its way past Laze's flame armor, but everybody stood firm.

Pycrin may've begun pursuing peace, but it had a very long history of war. The scene before them was… disturbing, but it was perhaps more disturbing it didn't phase the veteran soldiers.

"Go," Cannon said simply, and nearly sixty Firestorm burst through the gateway held open by twenty Salidians. Another hundred-and-forty waited nearby to relieve them, as moving that many troops that far would be exhausting. It also meant retreat would be difficult if needed.

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Laze shook her head to remove those thoughts. There was no place for retreat in this fight. And… was that the flaw with her plan? All or nothing? Was it too desperate? Should she have…?

"Firestorm have engaged enemies," Cannon said. "Groundies move through. Live engagement underway. Secure the gate area."

Laze's attention snapped back to reality, flaming blasts from PICs and electrum weapons flashing on the other side of the gate.

"A fight? Already?" she asked nobody in particular.

"There were bound to be Depths that didn't move to intercept the ships," Sol said, voice as calm as ever. "This isn't unexpected. You even planned for it."

Laze took a breath. Sol was right. Sending through the Firestorm and groundies first had been her plan to sweep away stragglers. And, those groundies were already marching through, their artillery within the ranks. Mobile flame-lance cannons – with more punch than a PIC – they didn't take long to set up, and once placed, would devastate the enemy. As long as they were protected, and had four, live groundies to power them.

"We're next," Laze said, counting the groundies. Another hundred or so, and it would be their turn. "Going in hot." With that proclamation, Laze ignited the wings on her back. They still weren't nearly as fast as El – or even most of the Firestorm around her – but they came out within a few seconds. A bow ignited on the electrum focus in her left hand, and she immediately went to work igniting an arrow that split into two, then four, then eight.

Each team had several PIC-users on it – those with the most endurance – but this wasn't expected to be a quick battle. They'd be relying a lot on their foci, and Laze planned to only use the PIC over her shoulder in an emergency. Her trick with splitting arrows should make up the difference in firepower at a fraction of the cost.

Finally, the last of the first wave of groundies passed through the gate, and one of the aides next to General Cannon gave Laze the signal.

"Follow me!" she shouted, launching off the ground and blasting straight through the gateway. There was a slight stretching sensation as she crossed the threshold, but she'd traveled with El enough it didn't even phase her. She couldn't say the same for all the other Firestorm behind her, but they'd drilled enough nobody lost their lunch, and then they were in the midst of an ongoing firefight.

This was more than stragglers, with hundreds of hangnails getting mowed down by Firestorm and groundie joint maneuvers. Further out, one of the first wings had engaged a pair of seawyrms, though the powerful beasts were somehow holding their own. Beyond that, it was tough to tell how many other monsters of the Depths hid within the ruins of the town.

"One thing at a time," Laze told herself, then opened up her communications. "The groundies and Firestorm here have secured the immediate staging area. We're going to help take down the seawyrms. Watch out for their breath attacks – like pressurized water cannons strong enough to cut you in half through your flame armor."

With the orders given, Laze arced up into the sky and away from the open gateway, then soared over the frontline clash with the hangnails. As soon as she had a clear shot at the nearest seawyrm, she loosed her barrage of eight arrows, then immediately began igniting the next volley. With her shot came forty-five additional arrows, the whole rain of projectiles slamming into the single seawyrm like the wrath of an angry god.

Completely blindsided by the attack, fiery explosions wracked the serpentine body and the ground all around it. While the seawyrms' greatest weakness seemed to be the insides of their mouths, even their sapphire scales would have a hard time warding off an assault like that. Almost four dozen domes of flames engulfed the beast, the blast even catching the other monster and causing it to roar back in shock and pain.

As for the first one, when the flames cleared, the seawyrm stumbled out of the cratered ground, scales missing and blood leaking from dozens of horrific wounds. Still, it wasn't dead, and it opened its mouth to release its breath attack.

And got ten arrows straight down its throat for its trouble, with Laze, Nidina, and Dayne all waiting for exactly that response. Fire ripped through its mouth and down the length of its body, setting the whole thing twitching and thrashing in pain. The other Firestorm piled on that moment of weakness and began systematically dismantling the monster.

Meanwhile, the original two wings had the other seawyrm on its back feet, their coordinated advantage and strength quickly whittling it down. In a last-ditch effort to turn the tides, the monster spun on the spot, slapping the barrage of incoming arrows aside with its tail. The move cost the creature nearly a third of its body behind its rear leg, but it continued the spin so quickly it practically launched out of the receding flames as it continued its rotation.

One Firestorm who'd been skimming along the ground with a flaming axe to engage in close range was suddenly right in front of the widening maw.

Laze saw it all happening, but even with her arm lifting to release her next volley of arrows, they'd never arrive in time. The man was as good as dead.

Until a spike of ice the size of a small building slammed straight down on the top of the seawyrm's head. The force of the blow drove the entire front half of the beast into the stone hard enough to shake the ground. Teeth shattered as the mouth smashed closed, blood gushed out of the nostrils and eyes, and the unmistakable sound of breaking bone echoed across the field. And, though the seawyrm's legs spasmed and clawed at the ground like it was trying to get back up, Sol imperiously lowered from the sky above it.

In his right hand, he drew the massive, ice-covered greatsword from over his shoulder. Holding it directly above his head, the air all around them seemed to drop a dozen degrees, and a whomp of pure power blasted out in a sphere. Then, almost nonchalantly, he slashed his sword in a downward arc, and a wave of rushing icicles shot ahead. Even with how strong the seawyrm's sapphire scales seemed to be, they offered no protection against the brutal attack. Dozens of icy spikes tore through the entire length of the seawyrm's body, lifting it from the ground until it hung suspending above the ground, blue blood pouring like waterfalls from the wounds.

"Really, really glad he's on our side now," Nidina said.

"Yup," Laze said. "But don't let him steal the show. Let's clean up the rest of this trash. We've still got to march to the center of the island and destroy the ring."

The first part of her plan – infiltrating Wirock – had gone off almost perfectly. Still, looking deeper towards the center of the island, and at the dark clouds overhead threatening a storm, something told her she wouldn't be so lucky for the rest of the operation.