They left the refugees behind and forged on, heading more east than south now as they closed in on their destination.

The usual competition between the scouts was muted and almost entirely absent that evening, while the training and preparations took on an air of finality to them.

They all knew that tomorrow would likely not bring them into direct combat, but it would be the start of the final stretch to the fight that would define this region for years to come.

-**-

The air was thick with tension as they set off in the morning, covering the final few hours of travel to reach the mustering point.

Verdan walked at the front of the group, still periodically casting detection spells for Cyth, Darjee, Thralls or Gormagyr.

While only the first of that list should be a threat right now, the unexpected cooperation between the Darjee and Gormagyr was fresh in Verdan’s mind.

He also keenly remembered the ambush in the village that had been raided. He wouldn’t fall for such tactics again so easily.

The sun was high in the sky when they reached their destination, a vast section of grassland between a rocky hill and a river.

The rest of the alliance was already present, or so the masses of tents and people present would suggest.

Several thousand Sorcerers and Sect retainers had travelled here to form this army, dwarfing the eight hundred people who’d come from Hobson’s Point.

“So many of them,” Silver said, looking a little daunted by the sheer scale of what they were joining.

“I hope it will be enough,” Verdan said, thinking of how many settlements the Cyth had corrupted by this point.

Hopefully, any Stormlords who joined them would have the latest intelligence on the size and scale of what they were facing.

“We’ll make it enough,” Silver said forcefully, meeting Verdan’s gaze with a determined look. “We will break the Cyth, or die trying.”

Turning away, Silver went to oversee their force as they moved down to join those already present.

Verdan ran his eyes over the guards and volunteers who’d come all this way to defend their homes and felt a chill run down his spine. The brutality of the Cyth was beyond what they could imagine, and part of him couldn’t help but wonder how many of those present would live to make the long trip home.

“This has to be the largest concentration of Sects and Sorcerers I’ve ever seen,” Kai said, stepping up next to Verdan with Gwen at his side. “You can see the division within it all, though.”

“Oh?” Verdan looked back at the sprawling mass, trying to see what Kai was looking at.

“Yes, see there, that is the Steel Custodian section, and then the blue-grey to their side would be the Unbound Gale. The red over there is the Defiant Flame, with the dark grey below the Eternal Wardens. I even see a small clump of Stormlords, but there can’t be many of them.”

Verdan followed Kai’s gestures, seeing the subtle ways in which the mass was segregated into the different Sects. There was one that he didn’t see, though. “What of the Disciples of Adamar? I meant to ask you about them, actually. What sort of Sect are they?”

“The Disciples are an odd bunch,” Kai said, pointing off to one side at a small cluster of brightly coloured tents which lacked the uniformity of the Sects. “That will be them over there. They won’t have any retainers with them, but they’ll be some of the best fighters out of all the Sorcerers here. They draw from all Sects, and are considered a neutral party in most Sect conflicts.”

“Interesting,” Verdan said, eyeing the colourful tents for a moment longer before turning back to Kai and Gwen. “We’re going to need to be careful from here on. We need to make sure that the Sects take us seriously.”

“What do you suggest?” Gwen asked.

“Every meeting needs to have a Witch, Cleric or one of us present. Someone to back up Silver or whoever is there. We also need to make a statement of some kind, make sure they know to take us seriously.”

Gwen nodded thoughtfully before pausing and slowly smiling. “You know, I think I have just the idea.”

“Oh?”

“Simple.” Gwen’s smile turned smug. “We just get the Fwyn and Brecan to make us some basic foundations for our camp. It will be a lot for them, but it will really drive home that we’re not to be taken lightly.”

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“Even the Eternal Wardens haven’t done that,” Kai said, nodding to the distant tents of the earth Sorcerers. “At least, not on a large scale.”

“Alright, I like it. Go find Gruthka and get it set up. I’ll let Silver know and see about getting some sort of meeting with whoever is in charge here.”

Gwen nodded and hurried off in search of the Fwyn, but Kai stayed behind and fell into step with Verdan. “I’ll stick with you. I might be able to help somehow.”

Verdan nodded, having no issue with that. Kai was their expert on Sorcerers, and no doubt he was eager to find some sort of purpose with his exclusion from fighting.

The leading elements of the Hobson’s Point expedition were already settling in to a corner of the large encampment, and Silver, along with Auger, was moving to meet with a small group approaching from the Steel Custodian area.

Unsurprisingly, Brenn and the rest of the Steel Custodians who’d marched with them weren’t staying with their group and had instead broken off to rejoin their Sect.

Verdan wasn’t sure if it was a calculated move of disrespect from Brenn to simply leave and say nothing, but it wouldn’t surprise him if it wasn’t. She didn’t seem the type to care what they thought or how they viewed her.

Putting that aside, Verdan and Kai joined up with Silver and Auger to meet the oncoming group, which they now saw was a trio of retainers and a single Sorcerer.

The Steel Custodian was in full armour, as usual, and simply gave a nod of respect as he came to a halt. “Elder Vanarr asks that you join him for a general meeting in one hour. You were the last to arrive, so the leaders of the other groups will also be present.”

“Thank you,” Silver said, taking a single step forward. “I shall bring the leaders of each of the factions that comprise my group.”

The Sorcerer frowned heavily but simply nodded before turning and leaving, the three retainers marching along behind him.

“A smart move,” Verdan said approvingly once the four of them were alone. “That should help give us some weight.”

“I hope so,” Silver said, looking after the departing Sorcerer for a moment before turning back to Verdan and Kai. “Sergeant Auger has command of our special division, but the two of you are the best experts we have. I’ll be putting my trust in both of you today.”

“We won’t let you down,” Verdan said, meeting the Commander’s gaze levelly. “And we certainly won’t let the Sorcerers disregard you.”

Silver nodded before turning back to where their camp was being set up and frowning as he saw Lan’Wai and the other Brecan shifting dirt and rock. “What’s happening?”

“It was Gwen’s idea,” Kai said with a touch of pride. “We’ll be creating a more permanent structure for the camp, to help drive home that we’re not to be underestimated.”

Silver nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Not bad. It will be nice to be the ones with the show of strength for a change.”

Verdan nodded, his eyes lingering on the distant Brecan as they constructed something similar to the Kranjir great hall. It was larger and more angular in design, but it would be both shelter and somewhere to bring people together.

-**-

An hour later, a somewhat odd collection of people left to head toward the centre of the camp.

A Steel Custodian retainer had come to act as their guide, and her surprise at how many of them were coming told Verdan that this was going to be an interesting experience.

Dirk, Ciaran and Osran were all attending, each representing their own Clan. Along with them came Cullan, Bastian, Sylvie, Gruthka, Lan’Wai and Gwen

The obvious non-humans drew quite a bit of attention as they moved through the camp, though no one said or did anything to act on it.

Here, in the heart of their power, no doubt the Sorcerers saw them as a curiosity more than a threat.

The meeting was taking place in a cleared area right in the centre of the sprawling city of tents, with a large canvas pavilion sheltering a dozen or so Sorcerers.

They were a mismatched group, with each Sorcerer wearing the colours and style of their Sect.

It was a measure of how seriously they were taking this that all of them were wearing armour, not just the Steel Custodians. Of course, the rest of them were wearing light non-restrictive armour, as opposed to suits of heavy metal.

Verdan’s gaze lingered on a pair of Defiant Flame Sorcerer and the scaled armour they were wearing. He remembered all too well how the Sorcerers from that Sect had come to burn Hobson’s Point wearing only their robes.

The Sorcerer with the more elaborate armour was a tall, red-haired woman with blue eyes and a resting smirk, whilst the second was a short, muscular man with close-cut hair who looked somewhat familiar.

Though the man wore a neutral expression, Verdan thought he saw him tense as Silver led the way over to the meeting table.

The rest of the assembled Sorcerers gave a variety of reactions as they all arrived, but Verdan ignored them to focus on the Steel Custodian at the core of the group.

He was a tall, grey-haired man with a close-cut beard, scars down the side of his face and a missing right ear.

“Greetings,” the man said, moving to meet Silver, the other Sorcerers getting out of his way. “I’m Calear Vanarr. Elder of the Steel Custodians and I have overall command of this alliance.”

“Lukas Silver, Commander of the force from Hobson’s Point.” Silver shook Vanarr’s hand, which Verdan now saw was a finely detailed metal prosthetic.

“A pleasure, Commander,” Vanarr said approvingly. “I wasn’t expecting so many of you to join us today. Your companions do you credit, though. Good to see you, Cullan, Bastian.”

“And you,” Cullan said, giving the Sorcerer an easy grin while Bastian simply nodded.

“Our force is predominantly the city’s guard force, but these are the leaders of all the other elements,” Silver said, turning to introduce the rest of them one by one.

Vanarr nodded and greeted each of them by name after Silver had introduced them. Verdan was actually quite impressed that the old Sorcerer didn’t hesitate to acknowledge Gruthka or Lan’Wai.

Macannan had said that Verdan would like the Elder, and so far

“…and this is Verdan Blacke, Wizard and ally of the city.”

“Ah, yes, the Wizard,” Vanarr said, giving Verdan a slow nod. “Ferd and Macannan have both sent me reports on your work. Once this is over, I’d like to discuss some matters with you.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Verdan said, wondering just what had been in those reports.

“Excellent.” Vanarr turned and walked back to the table, gesturing for them to join the rest of the group. “Now, please give me a summary of your capabilities so I can integrate you with the rest of the alliance.”