The Nian Chronicles
Chapter Six

Alaene woke to sounds of military practice. She had moved her military gear into Talek’s office nest but had stayed up late again; this time reading the Histories and making preparations to fight the Lizia. Talek’s plans were good--she had gone over all his writings and commands of late--but more needed to be done.

Ramal tapped at the entrance and stepped in. “The Younglings have been paired to their respective mentors. I don’t know how well this will work. They have less than a month to learn what normally takes a year.”

“Yes, I know. It’s the best we can do.”

“We have assigned you a Youngling also since we have so many. Her name is Linae.”

Alaene frowned at the roster on her desk. “She’s fifty, at least, one of the older Younglings.”

Ramal shrugged. “She isn’t strong physically. She’s reluctant to take on her duties.”

“That won’t last long,” Alaene replied.

“That’s why we assigned her to you. She’s outside waiting.”

Alaene stretched and flexed her wings then checked her appearance in a mirror. After eating a few handfuls of dried fruit and seeds from a tray left in her office, she emerged into the morning light to meet her Youngling.

Linae’s coloring was the most unusual she’d ever seen. Her silver gray body resembled Alaene’s, but the younger girl’s wings were white, contrasting like most Dancers but not excessively. Alaene stared at her, wondering if someone had made a mistake in declaring her a Dancer. She was too pale, not at all brilliant or vivid like other Dancers, but neither was she the brown, gray, green, or yellow of most common Nia.

Linae’s eyes were also a pale silver and full of trepidation as Alaene approached. “Commander!” she squeaked and saluted.

Alaene returned it and circled her. Linae trembled under her inspection and avoided her direct gaze. “Linae, is it? I have to say, I’ve never seen anyone with your coloring before.”

Linae hung her head. “Sergeant Ramal called it a throwback to when the Dancers first came to be. They were not as bright as they are now.”

Alaene had read that somewhere, but she couldn’t remember where or when. Linae was a throwback, then. How would that help or hinder Linae against the Lizia? How could the girl use it to her advantage in battle?

“You are very beautiful, at any rate,” Alaene assured, and the girl blushed.

“Thank you commander,” she whispered.

“Come then, Linae. You will accompany me wherever I go, do what I do, and learn everything in two weeks. At least I hope we have that long.”

Linae stared at her. “They’re really coming, aren’t they?” she whispered.

“Yes, they are.”

“Are you afraid?”

Alaene paused. “Everyone is afraid, Linae. The difference between those who succeed and those who fail is whether or not they overcome their fears and fulfill their duty despite their feelings.”

Linae gulped. “Yes, Commander.”

This girl needs a big boost to her ego, Alaene thought. It's as pale as her coloring. “We will start with training. Come with me.”

The frightened girl shadowed Alaene, reminding her of Nadia, and Alaene was determined not to let this girl fade away to the dissenters. She stayed to watch Linae train to know how to encourage her. She wasn’t strong or fast, but she was smart and watched her opponents carefully.

Nadia could be like this, Alaene thought, if she would only recognize her value to the community.

Linae was also book smart. She knew the Histories backwards and forwards and often quoted them in conversations. A historian, Alaene thought. That will come in handy during a crisis to compare how situations were handled in the past.

At break Linae plopped on a tree branch, too tired to even fold in her wings.

“Why the droops?” Alaene challenged.

Linae shrugged. “I’m no good, Commander.”

“Linae,” Alaene chastised. “Very few Dancers are perfect on their first try. You did well enough, but you do need improvement. You're also a valuable asset to the Dancers in other ways. You may never be as good in battle as others, but your mastery of our Histories and politics shows you have leadership potential. I want you as an adviser. What do you think of that?”

Linae looked at her quizzically. “What could I possibly advise you on? You’re much more experienced than I.”

“We also need Dancers who can problem solve. I believe you’ll serve us better as a thinker.”

“Does this mean I won’t be in the battles?” Linae sighed in relief.

“I can’t guarantee that. You have to be able to defend yourself and others, so your training will continue; but during our time together we will work on strategies and tactics. Agreed?”

Linae nodded. “Yes, Commander!”

Alaene took her through the entire forest, explaining guard and scout posts, the escape routes to the shelter caves, and the shelter work. They landed next to the work foreman on a rock watching the workers scurry in and out.

“Good morning, Kimar,” Alaene greeted. “How is the project going?”

The pale green foreman turned and smiled. “Very well, Commander. The issue with the collapsed tunnel has been resolved, and work has resumed.”

“What is the current progress?”

“We have succeeded in reinforcing the older tunnels and we are now digging out new ones.”

As they spoke, an endless stream of villagers brought food and supplies into the caves while others carried out buckets of dirt and rocks. Alaene and Linae turned to the defense areas around the cave opening. Archers shot at targets, some Dancers flitted above them in battle maneuvers, and others oiled catapults and inspected nets for damage.

“What are those for?” the younger Dancer asked.

Kimar smiled. “The catapults throw rocks and nets at the Lizia when they follow the Nians to the caves.”

Linae studied the old weaponry with a critical eye. “These are really old. Do they even work?”

One of the catapult teams launched a rock into a tree, which shuddered from the blow.

Alaene smiled. “I guess so! We’ve trained in the old ways for millennium. They have always worked.”

But Linae shuffled and blushed as she studied the caves and the defenses. The three entrances were small, designed that way to keep the Lizia out. Bare rock and loose stones littered the routes to the caves.

Catapults guarded each cave and were stockpiled with rocks, pitch, and nets to launch at the Lizia. The nets would open when thrown, tangling a victim’s legs or wings and making it easier to kill; but catapults were unwieldy at times and not very accurate.

Linae tapped her foot. “But no trees grow along the cliff face, and only a few shrubs grow beyond the edges of the forest. The villagers will be vulnerable here at this last dash to the caves."

The catapults and nets will help," Kimar assured.

"But what else could we use to slow the Lizia down? Would building a wall around the entrances help or hinder the citizens trying to get in?”

Kimar stroked his chin. "I will discuss it with the other engineers later today and advise you on its feasibility, Commander."

Alaene nodded and studied her new advisor. “I think I have your first assignment, Linae.”

Linae perked up. “Yes, Commander?”

“I’m putting you in charge of looking for any additional defenses from the past that we’ve overlooked; and if you can’t replace any, try to develop some.”

Linae frowned. “What type of defenses, ma’am?”

Alaene hesitated. “I don’t know, but there most be something. I agree that this area is too exposed. If the Lizia get here before all the villagers are safe in the caves, we may have many casualties. We need something fast to protect the Nia from the forest edge there,” Alaene pointed, “all the way to the caves.”

“I will study it out,” Linae promised.

They continued to the meadows where harvesters gathered blossoms, dried fruits, and collected nuts and seeds. In the village, families prepared their own supplies for the caves and secured their nests the best they could. Alaene fully expected many nests to be damaged when they returned to their village that fall. The histories said the Lizia always went for the nests first, shredding them to replace any hidden occupants. They seemed to know as much about the Nia as the Nia did about them.

Alaene ventured to her family’s nest to replace them inside busy packing. Alaene hugged her brother and introduced Linae. “Are you almost finished?” she asked her father.

“Oh, yes,” Vartan assured. “We only have a few more trips.”

Mattan tugged on Alaene’s arm. “Do the Lizia ever come at night?”

Alaene looked at him, then at Linae.

The girl tapped her finger on her cheek. “No. They are cold blooded, so they need the warmth of the sun to keep warm. They also can’t see at all during the night. No, they won’t come at night.”

Mattan danced around his mother. “If we know for sure they are coming, why don’t we all just go to the shelter before they get here?”

Shania smiled. “The shelters aren’t big enough to live in permanently. They are only for temporary protection during danger.”

“How long do we have to stay there?”

Linae answered that one, too. “The longest the caves had to be used was for three months.”

“We have to stay locked up for three months?” Mattan gasped.

Vartan chuckled. “Not locked up, Mattan. We have an advantage over the Lizia because we can fly and see in the dark. As long as we're careful, we can move around the forest at night. We just have to hide during the day when the Lizia are out hunting.”

“Why do they come here, anyway?” Mattan complained.

“When it’s hot, all their food in the north dies or comes south. They have no food there, so they come here,” Alaene explained.

“What do they eat?”

“Anything they can catch,” Vartan responded. “They are predators, and I guess we taste pretty good to them.”

Mattan’s eyes opened wide. “They eat us!?” He shook his head. “I don’t want to get eaten!”

“Then you had better be good and go to the shelter when the horns blow,” Alaene challenged.

“Mattan did have a good idea,” Shania mused after he ran off to play. “If we could get a little more advanced warning, we can sound the alarm faster, and maybe we could get to the shelter sooner.”

Alaene shook her head. “The only way to do that is to have scouts posted a day’s journey away in every direction, because they don’t always come straight from the north. It all depends on where they've had to forage before reaching here.

“In addition, the Lizia fly fast. If they happened to see the Nia scouts they'd speed up to catch them, bringing the flock here even faster; exactly what we don’t want. And a lone scout would be vulnerable and might not return at all.”

“I guess you're right," her mother sighed, "but I still wish we could get a faster warning.”

“As do I. Alright, keep packing, and I’ll check back tomorrow.”

Alaene and Linae continued on their tour. They happened to pass by the council clearing and found the council in session discussing urgent business that couldn’t be set aside.

“What about these Younglings?” one of them complained. “They are too young and tender for this fight! I’ll wager any money they all die the first day!”

Alaene scowled. Who was Dorik to challenge Talek’s wisdom? They needed everyone they could get, including the youngest available. Before Alaene could step forward, the councilor noticed her and Linae.

“Let us allow our new commander to answer that question.”

To Alaene’s surprise, Linae turned to her. “May I? I am angered by my father. He should be proud of my early service.”

Alaene nodded. “Come.”

They approached the council and Alaene smiled. “My fellow Nia and council members,” she greeted. “I could not help but hear the last statement about the Younglings. I have with me one of their numbers, and she has requested that I let her answer the question.”

Many murmurs ran through the gathering as Linae stepped forward and shimmered in the sunlight. “She’s so young!” someone said.

“She isn’t even bright enough!” another answered. “Should she even be a Dancer?”

Linae scowled. “I am Linae. I am forty eight years old. My time to join the Dancers wasn’t due for another two years.” She paused. “At first I was scared to be called up so early; many were. But Commander spoke with us about our duty in this time of need. I am afraid, but I'm also proud of my place in the Dancer society. I want to be useful to my community. I am willing to risk my life for my family and my people.” She paused to look at her scowling father. “So let me!”

No one spoke in the face of her fierce tirade.

Who in the world thought this girl was shy? Alaene mused and stepped forward.

“Linae has spoken her heart. I assure you the rest of the Younglings are just as brave and eager. We do not have time to bicker among ourselves, therefore I advise you to let me handle the Dancers, and you see to your houses and businesses.”

Alaene stepped away and Linae followed, leaving hushed whispers in their wake. Alaene glanced back to see Linae’s father scowling with crossed arms. There was still too much to do and too little time.