The Godsfall Chronicles

Cloudhawk never thought he would be a leader, much less any sort of hero .  

In the eyes of Greenland’s citizens, however, he was both . To the students of Greenland Inst.i.tute he was the avatar of the wastelands, rising in defiance against their oppressors .  

Inwardly, conflict broiled in his heart . Most of the people gathered here today, Cloudhawk was familiar with . If he had to categorize them, he would cla.s.sify then into three groups:

The first category consisted of those with whom his relations.h.i.+p had ups and downs . The Wendigo King, Vulture, Coal and so forth . He might have been friendly with them in the past, but their paths had since diverged .

The second category was less complicated in that he just didn’t like them . Abaddon was the worst culprit . Cloudhawk’s feud with him ran deep . After all, it was here in this very city a few years before that the demon had murdered one of his closest friends . Nor would he ever forget the death cry of Slyfox, captain of the Tartarus Mercenaries . Despite the pa.s.sage of years, Cloudhawk’s hatred hadn’t eased one bit, but he never acted on it . Just like with Arcturus, while his desire to cut the demon down was strong, it wasn’t strong enough to overcome their discrepancy in power .  

Third were those he shared an unclear relations.h.i.+p with, like Wolfblade . Since the man had revealed his ident.i.ty, Cloudhawk wasn’t sure what to think about him . Although he’d never acted out of malice toward Cloudhawk, Wolfblade was instrumental in manipulating Cloudhawk down a road he had no interest in taking .

Long story short, Cloudhawk was still the same hot-heated kid he used to be . He wasn’t going to take the initiative and join with Wolfblade and Abaddon if he could help it . However, here he was today, about to embark on a most distasteful partners.h.i.+p . Maybe that was a testament to how he’d grown, in understanding the truth of the old adage that the enemy of my enemy was my friend . There was no such thing as an eternal foe in this world . Under the right circ.u.mstances, even an arch-nemesis could become an ally .

Wolfblade’s smile was mysterious and unsettling . “I was told about the situation . Dawn is an unfortunate casualty, and ultimately her capture doesn’t matter . This was bound to happen, whether the Elysians took her or not . Only, it means we are now short a strong arm . ”

“I’m sure you knew something like this would happen the moment you suggest I come here . You’ve been using me from the start, I just don’t know to what end . What the h.e.l.l are you after?” Cloudhawk fixed Wolfblade with his gaze – cold, but not angry . “Even now, you won’t share it . ”

Wolfblade answered calmly . “I lost what I wanted a long time ago, so it isn’t important . What is important is if you have made up your mind about what you want to do . ”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have called you!” He changed the subject . “What do we know about what’s happening in Skycloud . What’s our plan of action?”

“According to our most recent intelligence, Skycloud’s expeditionary force is gathering in a fortress at the realm’s southern border . Forces from all over the realm are being dispatched to that location, so they are likely to choose this fort to make their stand . This means they are in control of the battlefield . ”

“What?” Cloudhawk was confused by their decision . “They want us to bring the fight to their own doorstep? Isn’t that asking for trouble?”

Wolfblade unfurled a map . He indicated the fortress with his finger . Cloudhawk leaned over and spied the stronghold’s name: South Haven .

Cloudhawk’s pupils contracted . Part of his training in h.e.l.l’s Valley involved learning about Skycloud’s different bastions . South Haven was considered the southern gate into the Elysian realm . If they could break through there, was little left defensively Skycloud could do to protect from southern invaders .

Its importance to Skycloud was obvious . Of course, that also meant its defenses were a far sight more formidable than that of an average city .

“South Haven isn’t as unshakable as Skycloud City, but it isn’t an easy target either . It was cleverly selected – if they’d chosen the capitol instead, we probably would’ve stayed our hands . We aren’t strong enough to fight past South Haven and then on to Skycloud, but bypa.s.sing it means that we would have left an enemy at our backs . ”

Cloudhawk nodded . He agreed with Wolfblade .  If Skycloud decided to go through with Dawn’s execution in the capitol, Cloudhawk would be forced to find a way to slip in and try to save her with a small crew . This was not the decisive battle Arcturus was going for .

Instead, their choice appeared to be most suitable . By staging it at South Haven, Arcturus would have lured the wasteland powers into enemy territory, but not so deep as to turn them off from the idea completely . Lure, surround, destroy .

To make it work they needed the right bait . If the bait was too big the fish couldn’t swallow it, no matter how enticing . Too small and you might not catch the fish’s interest . This bait… this bait was just right . If the wastelanders could take this fortress… the implications would be incredible .  

Most importantly, this was bound to be a war against the bulk of Skycloud’s military strength . There was as much potential for them to annihilate the wasteland’s armies as there was for Skycloud’s to be wiped out . An obvious but masterful scheme .

The Khan offered his insight in that robotic, emotionless voice . “Skycloud will throw a lot of its power at this fight . Arcturus himself might appear to ensure it goes his way . It may be our one chance to cut off the head of the snake . Once Arcturus is gone, even if we lose this battle we will have won the war . ”

Everyone was stunned by the suggestion . No one else would dare suggest killing the Master Demonhunter as a primary objective .

In addition to his phenomenal power, it was a rare for Arcturus to ever leave Skycloud . This situation was obviously different . Considering how high the stakes were, they could expect Arcturus to make a personal appearance . The Khan was right, it was probably their one chance .

That being said, Arcturus absolutely was not an easy man to kill .  Cloudhawk would love to sweep all his grudges away in one strike, but that was unlikely to happen . He knew what Arcturus was capable of, he’d seen it first-hand . He was not the sort you took head on .

“Let’s cut the s.h.i.+t . ” Cloudhawk rose to his feet and looked over the group . “Time to get to the heart of the matter . Tell me how many people you can offer . How much are you willing to put on the line in this fight?”

Cloudhawk got straight to the point . He didn’t expect some resounding success from this battle, all he cared about was bringing Dawn home .

He didn’t have enough people to do that, not alone . All he had at his disposal were the Talons . Best he could do was serve as the tip of the spear . The bulk of their forces would have to come from the Dark Atom and Nox .

Eventually, they came to an accord .  The Dark Atom would contribute a thousand soldiers under Coal’s command . The Khan offered the Wendigo King and a thousand of his wargs . In addition, Wolfblade would offer what reinforcements he could and the Khan would lend Cloudhawk a hundred Black Knights . Altogether, it added up to a ma.s.sive increase of strength for Greenland .

In return, Cloudhawk had to do what he could to crack open Skycloud’s defenses .  

Though they acknowledged their support was limited, Cloudhawk figured it would be enough . After all, his goal was different from theirs . He didn’t care about winning, only Dawn .

“Someone’s here to see you!” h.e.l.lflower made the announcement . “Representatives from the Goshawks . ”

That was strange… what did they want now? They weren’t ready for a mission like this .

Although the Goshawks were Greenland’s most elite, there hadn’t been enough time to get them ready . Throwing them in the middle of a fight like this would obliterate his special forces .  Still, Cloudhawk agreed to speak with their chosen representatives .

“Governor . We request permission to join the fight!” A group of officers from the force strode into the room, Rhino among them . He had no qualms speaking his mind when face to face with his leader . “We want to show those Elysians what wastelanders are made of!”

The request took Cloudhawk by surprise . “This is a dangerous fight . Have you thought this through?”

Morale among the Goshawks was soaring . “If the Talons are being sent, why not the Goshawks? We can’t sit here like turtles with our heads in their sh.e.l.ls . This fight concerns every last wastelander . Someone has to show these Skycloud b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that we wastelanders aren’t cowards!”

Cloudhawk could tell their fervor was genuine . They really wanted to do their part . He was short lieutenants to command the new troops anyway . If they were so eager to fight, who was he to turn them down? So be it . It was all prepared . This was going to be one h.e.l.l of a fight . Might as well make it even bigger .

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