eyes that they were all spellbound in some way. Jaali decided to wait patiently for at least some of them to come around because yelling at them had no effect. “General, what just happened?” asked one of the soldiers nearest the gruesome scene. “Son, can you tell me what you remember?” the general asked congenially. He put his arm around the trembling soldier to try and help calm his nerves. “I remember running toward the archers who had stopped to shoot that wicked general from his steed,” began the soldier weakly. He was comforted a little by the fatherly gesture by General Jaali. “Then it was as though the whole world was frozen or in slow motion. I saw the bowmen turn on one another and watched them destroy one another. Then I saw that vile general jump down off his steed and walk toward those that had not died and began to cut them to pieces. That was when he looked at me…” “What happened when he looked at you, son?” prodded Jaali kindly. “It is important that I know exactly what happened so we can make sure it does not happen to you or anyone else.” “Then…I…saw…him…in…my…head,” replied the guard, shaking violently at the mere thought. “What was he doing in your head?” asked the general urgently. He was getting more and more concerned by what he was hearing. Does this wicked fiend have psychic powers? The soldier did not reply vocally this time but merely shook his head from side to side. It was clear that the poor fellow had no way of telling his commanding officer exactly what Yukio had been doing in his mind. It was clear enough that he was torturing the soldiers in their minds somehow. General Jaali gave the poor fellow a squeeze of reassurance and then walked around the soldiers to see just how many were affected. It appeared that only the first five lines of troops had been under the control of Yukio. However, Jaali did not believe that it was Yukio who had conjured the images. Who has such powerful magic as to affect the minds of so many? And why would they be helping this vile betrayer? He stood there for a moment perplexed by the situation. He would need to do something to snap the spell and get his army moving again. If they did not move soon, Yukio’s army would reach the other side of the cliffs and then they would have the advantage.
As Yukio galloped up to the front of the sprinting army covered in his enemies’ blood, his troops shouted praises to their valiant leader. Chants and war cries filled the air as they picked up the pace now that their general was in the lead once more. Within a few days, they had reached the sentry posts at the northeastern end of the cliffs. Narrow passages between the cliff wall and a massive body of water to the east were natural defenses that the people of Landen had relied upon for centuries for protection. No one had ever scaled the cliffs or crossed the icy blue lake that was big enough to be an inland sea. General Yukio looked at the entry wall with a smile of triumph on his face. General Jaali will not dare to follow me with such strong natural defenses. I wonder why we were not attacked. How did the soldiers of Landen know we were coming? A sentry came forward to talk with the general but stopped short when he noticed that he was covered in blood. He did not know what to think of his appearance and simply stared for a moment. At first, he thought to call for a healer but was in too much shock to do anything. Finally he snapped out of his stupor and welcomed the general politely. “Welcome to Landen. King Ishrafle requests a meeting with you at once. He asks that your army stay at the northern end of the country to help fortify our defenses. We will provide supplies and lodging for your beleaguered men. Please hurry; the high elves are right behind you.” “Thank you for your hospitality. I will go with you straight away, but first I must pass on your instructions. I will have my troop’s station