Chibal was the last of the people up the cliff. The thick clouds that hung over the area kept the narrow path cloaked in shadows, but it was not dark enough for her to feel safe, or even really hidden. But someone needed to be last, and she had taken it upon herself.

It was a mean path--rocky, with pricker bushes that had mostly been cut or stomped flat, and it wound back and forth up the steep rocky edge of the plateau. How the gods had found or made this one narrow path up was beyond her--but they were gods, and that was all that mattered. If she had not watched others go on ahead, she would not have believed the path was walkable, and yet it was.

She had no doubt that the enemy that was lurking nearby was observing her very carefully for that same reason.

There were arrows, but far too few. They were harassing her, and she had no choice but to pass by several bodies, as others had before; she was already helping one wounded soldier, limping but otherwise capable of fighting, and she had no strength to do more. If she stopped and presented a stable target, she was sure they would go ahead and take the shot, but they seemed less interested in blood and more interested in fear. And Chibal had no choice but to fear them; with every step she took, she felt like a black weight was on her shoulders, a creeping thing that was always just a moment away from pulling her off balance and casting her down the steep incline. That feeling was an itch, and a bad one; she felt certain that something evil hung in the air, ready at any moment to end her.

But it didn't, and she climbed, slowly, the young woman limping by her side trying equally hard not to think about what lay behind.

When she was about two thirds up the slope, Ulia came scampering down, impossibly nimble as she always seemed to be, and helped the both of them ascend the last bit of the cliff. There at the top, Chibal found the remnants of the Temple and the Guard gathered, while most of the civilians were being encouraged to move further in from the cliff.

Chibal eyed the guards, nodding to herself. If the enemy came up the cliff, this was a better place to make a stand than any other. But... she pursed her lips. If they didn't--if they could do that portal trick again--they might be trapped, and too far from the townspeople to save them.

"It is good to see you healthy," offered Loi with a grin. "We're thinking of making a stand here. It's a risk, but there's nowhere better, or not likely. Honestly, only the Vicar of Eyes at the front knows what's ahead here, and she has only Seen it briefly."

"Vicar of Eyes?" Chibal's eyebrows rose and she looked directly at Loi, a question written on her face.

"Not Ryan. Raine of Eyes, who fought with Murn in the east. Apparently her God brought her here to guide us." Somehow, Chibal could detect no sign of conspiracy or amusement in Loi's voice--a sign that she was better at keeping secrets than Chibal was, or maybe ever would be. "I haven't seen Ryan, but I expect we'll meet up with him."

Chibal took a moment to process that before turning and examining the area around the cliff. "What do we plan to do if they can open a portal up here?"

There was a sudden increase in the amount of mumbling, especially from the guards. One, who dressed in the armor of a senior guard, if sloppily, spoke up. "Portal? How could they even do that?"

Loi's face had gone blank, a sign that she hadn't processed the chain of events leading to the question, either, so Chibal explained, briefly. "We were told they have some kind of necromancer. We don't understand the details, but... a God allied with the Goddess gave us warning. That power is what brought their army to the city in the first place."

Chibal could only watch as a number of faces fell among the guards, but Loi fixed her flat face after a few moments of thinking. "If they do, it's still a choke point," she said, clearly still chewing the thought over in their head. "Maybe if we gang up on it..."

Ulia smacked Loi on the shoulder, and she stopped. Ulia spoke quickly into the silence. "The powers of the Necromancer are unknown, and they also have mages. If we can ambush them, we must be prepared to flee."

"The necromancer also summoned goblins in the city," pointed out Chibal. "If they can do that again, we will be tired out from fighting them when the army arrives."

"Do you believe wherever we are going will be safe? Or more defensible?" The senior guard glanced nervously from one Blade to the next.

"It is a temple, and I suspect there will be at least two Vicars there." Chibal gnawed at her lip for a moment. "But I suspect that will not be enough."

"What does your Goddess believe?" The guard's question was straightforward, and the three former candidates exchanged glances.

"When last I spoke to her, she said to travel to the sanctuary," said Ulia. "But I believe we should check in with her again."

There were a series of nods, and Ulia knelt, focusing on her goddess. After a moment, Loi also knelt, and after hesitating, so did Chibal.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

----------------------------------------

Miana dropped everything she was doing to accept the call from Ulia--not that she was in the middle of much.

Ulia! I am glad you are well. What has happened?

Before Ulia could say much, Miana felt Loi and then a hesitating Chibal reach for her, and she pulled the three threads of communication together. Others near the three also reached for her, but with some regret, Miana had to leave them out of it for just this moment. With no godly avatar, she still looked like Miana to anyone who saw her in the prayer, and that might distress people. Loi, Chibal, it is good to see you.

She sensed an immediate shiftiness from Chibal, and a sense of resigned fear from Loi, but Ulia seemed to take it all in stride. Miana. We are at the top of the cliff, and not more than a half day away, I am told. The enemy are close, but they are waiting, and Chibal fears they may use black magic to make their way up the cliff, moving their army at once as they did before. We had hoped to ambush them here, but there is much fear, as they are still numerous and we know so little. What do we do?

Although the others could not hear it, in the moment Miana took to think on the problem, she felt certain she heard a small voice from Chibal saying, You cannot save us. It was not a thought or a prayer, but a creeping doubt, something she only knew from her secondary domain, whatever it was.

I'll be honest, said Miana, making the decision to trust the three of them. We don't have a lot of good options. If you make it here, we can definitely protect some of the town at the cost of others, but that is a failure and a betrayal. If we tried to hide them all, the enemy would understand that there was a trick, and it would come to a fight that we would lose.

How many can we save? asked Loi, seemingly more satisfied with the answer than Miana would have been. Or would she? Miana couldn't spare the time to consider it.

I don't know. There is room for a great many, but we need to convince them that the others left, and are not hidden there. The Necromancers are the greatest threat, there. A godly enchantment protects this place, but Necromancy is a terrible tool that... Miana couldn't quite keep her wits about her to finish the sentence, but she felt the three understood. Necromancy had killed the Goddess; if it was pitted against any mere enchantment, it might win that fight as well.

Then we must stretch the survivors out, perhaps even convince most of them to scatter. Do you know that the area here is safe?

It is not, but there are fewer predators than below. Miana wasn't actually sure of that--indeed, she was mostly bluffing, but the people stood a far better chance against wild animals than an army. She needed Ryan's help to determine what was safe, but on principle, she refused to reach out to him, not when this was her people looking to her for leadership. We will do our part to confuse the issue, but do what you can to mislead them.

So you do not believe we should fight? Chibal's mental voice was shaky, and Miana detected a growing current of faithlessness in her.

She hesitated. This was not a message that a Goddess of Blades wanted to give. You would lose, she said, defeat evident in her own mental voice.

We have humiliated the enemy that should have won in a single stroke, pointed out Loi, with forced cheer. We may not fully succeed here, but anything less than full defeat is still victory.

Miana heard those words, but felt numb. That is not enough. It cannot be enough. She felt fear gripping her heart, and she struggled against the urge to show signs of panic.

Two hands reached out to her, Ulia's and Loi's. Both gave her looks of pity, but Ulia spoke first. Before you knew that the Goddess was a person, she said, would you have insisted that she hand you an impossible victory?

Miana shook her head, but her heart didn't want to listen.

Loi joined in, a wry bent to her voice. We have lost battles, Miana. We will lose more. I want to save them all as much as you do, but here among them, I taste the fear we all feel in the air. All of us, from the greatest to the smallest, worry that we are not enough. This was never a burden for you alone.

But I am the Goddess, said Miana, not sure how else to phrase her objection.

No.

The three of them turned to look at Chibal, whose feelings were not bubbling over so much as stirring within her, carefully tended like a chef's pot. She was agitated, but was trying to calm and funnel those emotions. You are not the goddess, Miana. You are a small woman who has taken over for a great woman at just the wrong time. We need you to do your best, but you are not the one who will win this battle.

The words might as well have been a blade stabbed right into Miana's heart, made worse by the stench of truth that flowed from the wound. Still, some part of her couldn't listen, and without intending to, without really doing more than hearing the words pour out of her own soul, Miana said, But I must.

No. Chibal straightened and faced Miana. We must survive without you, Miana. You are not a goddess, but a child. You may grow to become a goddess someday, but you are not one now. Neither is Ryan. He has power, but from what we have seen, is he ready? No. Do not ask us to have faith in you when you are not ready to lead.

But I must.

We know you feel that way, said Loi, squeezing her shoulder gently. But Chibal is right. You know that she is. If this were about generals and not gods, you would feel the same burden, and we would need to convince you to step back. You aren't ready. All you can do is your best.

I believe that what you are lacking, suggested Ulia, is focus. You are trying to solve all problems at once. Deal only with the necromancer, and we will worry about the army. It is perhaps still too much for us, but that will not be your fault, Miana--my Goddess. We have lived our lives devoted to the sword, and we will handle matters of the sword. Your duty now is to handle the one thing that our swords cannot defeat.

Miana turned to look at Ulia, and she wished in that moment that their positions were reversed--that she was tasked with a merely impossible task, and not the burden of the responsibility that she faced. Ulia's eyes were kind, if half closed, and Miana could barely hold back tears as she looked from the face of one friend to the next. You... I don't know how to... but thank... thank you.

Ryan was right, said Loi in reply, with a sorrowful rise to her voice. Yours really is the worst job, Miana. I'm sorry.

Chibal, finally, also reached out, but what Miana felt from the touch was not a connection like the others. Chibal closed off her heart, and did not let Miana in. She spoke, but Miana could not hear her. And then she left.

After a moment, so did the others.