Forest For The Trees (Book 3) by Damien Lake

to know
you, Marik Railson.  And you have come to know us in return through the course
of your…career.”
    He could have argued the point; nearly did out of a
perverse urge to struggle against a descending axe he sensed rather than saw. 
Only half of those present were known to him.
    Except as the thought formed, he recognized one of the
two men standing at Raymond’s side.  The king’s seneschal, less recognizable
out of his formal robes of office.  Marik only placed him from the time he
organized the various contenders at the tournament during the opening ceremony,
arranging them into parodies of garden statues in a line extending away from
the outdoor thrones the monarchs would inhabit.
    Celerity left him no time to be smart with her. 
Perhaps because she had come to know how stubborn he could be after their brief
encounters last summer, or from whatever gripes Tollaf had vented against her
regarding his misfortune in having the ungrateful whelp as an unwanted
apprentice.
    “It’s as well you arrived after the council
adjourned.  For many reasons it would be best to make as little noise as
possible for the moment.”
    Marik frowned.  “Noise?  Listen, if you try to handle
these monsters the invaders brought with them quietly , then you’ll never
be able to drive them back.  It doesn’t matter who knows about them!  All that
matters is assembling enough strength to smash them!”
    Her arms folded in imitation of the knight-marshal. 
“So we are doing.  But we can’t ignore Nolier continuing to violate our border
to the east.  Their army is still suffering from their heavy losses in the last
war, as is our own.  The Nolier king does not seem to care much about that. 
His greed has gotten the best of him.”
    The tone beneath her words firmed further, coming out
as when she had spoken to Sloan and Kineta, speaking at the time with her full
authority and rank.  “The majority of the army will be needed to make it clear
Nolier may not set foot on our soil without reaping the consequences of their
actions.  As for the Tullainian border, we intend to question the prisoners you
brought to Thoenar and learn what we can, but in the meantime we must marshal
the forces available and plug the gap in our western defenses.  With the
invaders’ strike force defeated and their command in apparent disarray, they
will not be able to organize quickly.  During that time we will prepare.”
    His father’s voice abruptly spoke within the recesses
of his mind, clearer than it had been in a very long time.  Be careful what
you ask for boy, because the gods love nothing better than to give you exactly
that.
    The churning in his stomach intensified.
    Marik’s teeth refused to unclench while he demanded,
“What…does that have to do with me?  I came here…to tell you everything I can
about these beasts that nearly destroyed us.”
    “Your knowledge of them will be invaluable, it is
true.  Especially since,” she said flatly, her lips pursing, “you will be
responsible for the campaign to defend the western border.”

Chapter 03
     
     
    A blasted field of scorched stones over blackened
earth scarred the meadowlands outside the Rovasii’s tree line.  Grass and
dormant wildflowers had been seared away in the explosion that had ended the
pitched battle against the Arronaths on the forest’s edge.  Spring’s thaw had
come early when the snow had succumbed to the volcanic heat shaking the ground.
    It would be years before life returned to these
killing grounds, to judge by the wastelands Jide beheld.  He sat atop his horse
at the mountains’ base, viewing the aftermath in the rapidly advancing
nightfall, puzzling over what could have possibly happened in such a serene
setting.
    Rumors flew with wild abandon through the ranks,
especially at the few organized encampments the army had succeeded in
establishing this side of the mountains.  Jide had listened to gossip ranging
from a mutiny by the Taur