[Marata POV]

Though the unproven hunters had nearly broken as the gibbering, screeching monsters burst through the jungle, Marata had planned for that. No matter how complete and flawless a plan, people like these well-meaning but terrified villagers could never be counted on to follow directions under duress. Since she had planned on the other Speakers’ inability to begin their Callings immediately on time, Marata had long since completed her Calling and held it back through the force of her will. The pressure of the earth itself wishing to do as she had long since commanded grated on her mind, and she fought to keep herself from screaming at the militia around her in unbridled rage. Instead, she gave the command.

“Flamespeakers, NOW!”

At her side, Korali used his own Calling to carry her voice clearly to every one of the Flamespeakers, and Marata heard the muttering of voices behind her beginning to Call for fires to scorch their enemies and light the jungle. Even so, Marata held back her Calling. The keelish had closed in, and she could almost smell the rotting flesh on their breaths. The hunters, Earth and Wavespeakers, assigned to the front lines began to break, to fall back and away from the ravening horde. Their screams filled the air as the first and fastest of the keelish began to leap at the humans and tear into flesh. The shrieks of keelish were grating, and too far away for Marata to do anything about yet as she watched Wavespeakers’ valuable flasks be trodden underfoot and forgotten. She had needed to be here, at the back of the formation, but finally, with the arrival of the keelish at the front lines, she no longer needed to hold back the fury of the earth.

“EARTHSPEAKERS! NOW!”

With her command, Marata released the earth to finally do as she had bidden, and two one hundred foot-long walls surged into being in the shape of a “V” in front of her, leaving an open space maybe five feet across directly in front of her. Each wall initially rose to nearly five feet in height, before then being urged to even greater heights by the Earthspeakers behind them. With a gasp of sudden exhaustion, Marata sagged for just a moment, only long enough to gather herself and watch the results of her plan.

All the Earth and Wavespeakers were now sheltered behind thick walls taller than themselves, with a couple of confused keelish trapped with the humans they’d thought were prey. With the beginning of the plan in earnest, the ragtag group of militiamen and women finally rallied as they saw the power of their leader, and what they themselves could do. Then, they quickly dispatched the off-balance keelish stuck behind their walls and without immediate support. The Earthspeakers establishment of the walls complete, they Called the strength of the earth into their limbs and covered themselves with however much of the stone’s armor as they could. After erecting the walls, most were too tired to muster even a breastplate, but they could create wide shields.

The Wavespeakers were quick to do their part as well, opening their flasks and sending the liquid within to spray evenly over the keelish behind their bulwarks. Just in time. The first volley of the Flamespeakers’ fireballs struck into the gathered body of the keelish, stuck between the two walls. The alcohol that the Wavespeakers had just coated the nearest keelish in immediately set alight and exploded under the heat of the flames. With a tight grin across her face, Marata grimly watched the spattering of limbs and flesh in their successful, first attack. She did mourn the few casualties they had sustained, but she could feel guilty about that after they’d exterminated these pests.

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With their initial assault rebuffed and the clearing going up in flames, the keelish lost their direction as their eyes spun wildly, looking for some new goal to engage with. The cheers of her soldiers behind her threatened to pull away Marata’s attention, but she remained focused on their enemy. “Windspeakers, hold! Fire on my command!” If the arrows started flying too quickly, then the keelish might flee, and she didn’t want that.

Speaking of the keelish, while they hadn’t yet realized that she was now their sole remaining “easy” target, they soon would. After a final deep breath to recover as much as she could muster, Marata began to Speak. The Calling was practiced and fell easily from her lips as she donned the entirety of the stone’s armor.

As soon as she stopped speaking, pliable stone flowed up her body. The comfortable weight might have slowed another, but Marata’s connection to the earth made the armor feel like a well-worn glove. It took less than half a minute before the full suit of plate armor covered her, the final touch being the seamless visor that covered her face, the only interruption to the featureless face being the long, thin slit that allowed her to see without impeding her vision. With a thought, two short, curved blades formed in her hands, and then the True Speaker was ready, and not a moment too soon.

A screeching command came from the jungle, where Marata could see three large shadows. Through the earth, she could feel that there truly were just three back there, and none so large as the one that Farrah and her squad had slain. The command from the keelish’s leader in the jungle was immediately apparent as the survivors of the initial attack began to surge forward, some leaping to scramble over the walls as best as they could while many others rushed on towards Marata herself.

“Go, Korali! Direct the Windspeakers to take out the three in the treeline, then the biggest you can see!”

“Victory, carin. May the Gran Verat guide you. I love you.” Without looking, Marata could feel Korali’s light steps rushing away to the crest of the hill where their best archers stood ready to let their arrows fly.

At last, it was time. Marata raised her blades in readiness, excited to truly use them for the first time in decades. The first keelish closed in, and she immediately cut it down, the blade passing seamlessly through the base of its neck. Under her visor, the True Earthspeaker felt a fierce grin cracking her face as she waded into battle with both blades swinging through the old, comfortable stances. She’d never engaged in a slaughter like this before, but with each step, each slice, and each death, Marata felt the power of her Calling, the power of her Speaking, the power of the earth itself thundering through her.

Even while giddy from the surging power thundering through her veins, Marata kept an eye on the keelish trying to swarm the walls. There, they met the waiting spears of the defenders as soon as their heads crested the makeshift parapets, and they summarily fell to the prepared people. The twanging of strings sounded behind her, and the commander heard the thunks of arrows hitting home. Surely that spelled the deaths of the leaders, and the keelish were sure to soon die beneath her blade or break before her fury. All according to plan.

Just as she felt herself settling into a comfortable pattern of dealing deadly blows, an unusually large keelish that had somehow evaded her notice approached the center of the eastern wall. Then, it reared its head back, roared, and smashed through the wall before setting into the astonished and defenseless Wavespeaker standing there. Before she could react to that, though, Marata received a windword, rushed words carried directly to her heart that made her blood run cold.

“There’s more of them! Behind us!”