*
The mustering of the behemoths and their crews took place far to the north of Avalos, outside of the great castle of Robert Beaumaris, one of the great Barons of Avanor.
The Darroks had to be fitted well outside of the castle’s walls, as even the expansive outer bailey of the castle could not hold the immense creatures and swarm of attending warriors, artisans, and other laborers attending to them.
A few plowed and planted fields had been forcibly requisitioned out of necessity, ruining a greater portion of the nascent crops for several hard-pressed farmers. It was not the first time that the peasant farmers had been forced to endure such injury to their labor. Tournament melees held by the knights and nobles of Avanor had trampled and ripped up their fields, and those of many others, on multiple occasions over the years.
As with the far-ranging tournament melees, the village farmers had to swallow their anger and pride, even more so at the present, as the Darroks were being sent forth at the behest of the Unifier. In some ways, the nature of the requisition helped to take a little of the sting out of the invasive, destructive act, as it was not just another indulgence by the Avanoran nobility. Nonetheless, the long-suffering peasant farmers quietly seethed, cursing their ill-fortunes, as they looked on incredulously from a distance at the monstrosities occupying their ruined fields.
The Darroks were outfitted with a new design of harness, one provided with a couple of additional adjustments to increase protection for the vital network of hide and iron. The group of Darroks was larger than the one used in the first strike on the Five Realms, as two more of the winged titans had been added to their number.
One of the new additions was a fully trained, matured female, while the second one was a younger male that the flight masters had just enough confidence in to dispatch for the coming task. The latter had given no indications that it would give any sort of trouble to its handlers, but it was still untested beyond its training exercises.
There was some initial hesitancy at the sight of the young male Darrok, especially by those that would have to be carried upon its back. The Trogens had to stifle their misgivings, as it was made abundantly clear that every possible resource was needed for the coming strike. It was a consequence of the tremendous pressure coming from Avalos that the final decision had been made to add the younger Darrok to the main contingent.
All but two of the Darroks were to be sent off with a full compliment of well-armed Trogens, heavily supplied with carefully sorted and selected stones for the coming bombardments. The remaining two Darroks were to carry a much lighter load of Trogens and stones, as each was to ferry a cluster of Harrak-mounted Trogen warriors. The carriages on those two Darroks were far from being filled to capacity. A considerable amount of space was left to enable the coming additions to their surfaces, as the contingent reached the outer boundaries of the Five Realms.
At the firm behest of the Trogen leaders, Avanoran skyriders would accompany the Darroks in the first part of the trek, across the skies of Gallea. Other Trogens would then join the force of Darroks in mid-flight, as the behemoths neared the Five Realms. The force of Trogens would intersect with the Darroks’ path, as the former flew up from the south, where they had been deployed in Saxany. The mounted Trogens would create a formidable escort, quite capable of fending off challenges much larger in size than the one that had manifested during the first raid. This time, the raid would be conducted under the auspices of the Trogen chieftains, and the tribes of the Five Realms were not going to be underestimated again.
The take-off of the Darroks was a sight to behold, and even the peasant farmers forgot about their troubles as they observed the creatures taking to flight. With tremendous exertions of force, the Darroks plodded across a considerable distance of open ground, building up speed. Massive wings beat the air powerfully, as their bodies lurched off the ground.
It seemed as if they hovered in place for a moment, just before their forms began to lumber slowly up into the sky. Once all of them were airborne, the Darroks consolidated into a loose formation as they flew in the direction of Avalos.
In no more than an hour, the Darroks passed over the great city itself, before turning towards the west, to set out for the forestlands of the Five Realms. The enormous flotilla cast sprawling, dark shadows over the city as they soared across the skies high above it.
Far below, whether a market, craft shop, or street, activity ceased entirely, as many thousands of eyes peered skyward at the passing juggernauts. It was only recently that they had seen a similar formation heading over the city, on its way to the distant war zone.
The passage of the Darroks once again sent a reflexive flutter through many hearts, as men and women hurriedly whispered prayers of thanksgiving that they were under the protection of the Unifier. The purpose of the creatures was a mystery to most observers, but it was understood by all that it was much more advantageous to be aligned with the Unifier, than to remain defiant.
*