The map made for grim reading.

Western Helberion had a large patch of red reaching a hundred miles into the country, pushing towards Marboll like the point of a dagger. Arrows had been pinned to the map showing the direction the Carrow invasion force was heading, and Leothan was alarmed to see one of them pushing up towards the north. They were going for Adams Valley, he knew. They wanted to destroy the new Institute of Electrical Research, so new that it hadn't even been opened before being half destroyed by a Radiant, but that splinter force also threatened to cut across the route Princess Ardria would be taking, on her way to meet with King Nilon and try to make him see the truth of the Radiants.

They won't interfere with her, he tried to tell himself. The Carrowmen know she's there, know where she's going. Leothan had talked to Nilon himself, by telegraph, and had told him that she was on her way to negotiate a ceasefire, diplomatic code for a Helberion surrender. Nilon had, of course, suggested that Leothan surrender there and then, but Leothan had said that they wanted to negotiate favourable terms for himself and his people. Nilon had agreed to allow Ardria and her party to enter the country, therefore, and would ensure that no harm came to her, but that finger of red reaching up to the route his daughter was going to take still sent a chill up his spine.

"They're through the minefield," said Field Marshall Amberley, bringing the King back to himself. "It did its job, took a heavy toll of the enemy, until the Radiants caused a small earthquake that detonated most of the remaining mines. They're going much slower now. Checking each newly ploughed field before crossing it."

"But still pushing onwards," pointed out General Glowen. "The damned balloons tear up any place we try to fortify with earthquakes, and then the damned mutton munchers just walk all over them."

Mention of earthquakes made Leothan look up at the ceiling, where the plaster was missing in large patches revealing the thick oak timbers that formed the very bones of the palace. Some parts of the palace had been placed off limits until repairs could be made, the surveyors having declared them to be unsafe, and to the King's annoyance the residential wing was one of them. When Leothan retired from his official duties for the day, be would have to go to the Ministerial Building across Liberty Avenue, where rooms had been assigned for him and the Royal Family.

It was aggravating, but Leothan wasn't going to complain when so many people had died during the attack. Nine in the palace alone. Eighty two people in the rest of the city and thousands more homeless, having to sleep in a large tent city that had been hastily erected in Manners Park. He'd gone to visit them that morning, to give some words of comfort and a promise that they would be properly rehoused as soon as the money and resources could be found. The cheer they'd given him had almost broken his heart.

"They're capturing our artillery pieces, using them against us," added General Lanier. "They were under equipped when they started, but if they keep this up they'll bring themselves completely up to strength with our own damned equipment!"

"Don't our boys have orders to sabotage any piece of kit they have to abandon?" asked Brigadier Kinley.

"You try sabotaging something when the ground's lurching under your feet and there're damned balloons in the sky cursing anyone who doesn't get away quickly enough," said Glowen. "We need more incendiary ammunition. They're the only way to stop the things."

"How are we going with finding a good source of phosphorus?" Leothan asked General Pavok.

"The chemistry guys are talking to the geography guys," the Minister for War replied. "We know what minerals contain phosphorus, we know where to find those minerals and we know how to extract it, but getting a supply chain established takes time. And, of course, any factory we build is likely to be targeted by the Radiants. In the meantime, we've been scrounging every scrap of phosphorus we can find in the country. Enough to make another three hundred rounds."

"We need a thousand times as much!" said Lanier.

"Yes, I know that," snapped Pavok. "Connery, one of the geography guys, says the best place to get the stuff is Jonwell." He strode over to the map on the far wall of the War Room, stabbed a finger at a spot in the east of the country. "Nice and far from the front line. The Carrowmen will have to take Marboll before they can strike out towards it."

"So we just have to worry about the balloons," said Lanier. "We need incendiary rounds to defend the place where we'll be making the incendiary rounds, and so far we have a grand total of fifty."

"We used up pretty much our entire supply defending Marboll against eight Radiants," said Kinley, "and they're apparently able to send hundreds when they want to."

"Any sign of a mass movement of Radiants?" asked the King.

"Not yet," replied Amberley, "but the place they're most likely to come from is Wilterland, and that's pretty barren country. There might be a force on its way already and we wouldn't know until it was right on top of us."

"So let's get some spotters down there, with pigeons. Tell them to send a bird back the moment they see anything." Amberley nodded and made a note of it in his notebook.

"While we're on the subject," said Minister Larren, "I can't stop thinking about the way the Radiants behaved when they attacked us. Are we agreed that the Radiants that attacked us were just regular Radiants? They weren't soldier Radiants or anything, I've got no idea whether there is any such thing. They were just Radiants that happened to be in the city when they received an order to attack us."

Leothan nodded. The same thing had occurred to him. "All but one of them died," he said. "Even after the first two or three had died, the others continued to attack, knowing they were probably going to die as well. The one that survived didn't flee to save its own life. It left when it realised it no longer had any chance of killing me or my daughter. If it had still had a chance, I'm pretty sure it would have died in the attempt as well."

"They're willing to sacrifice themselves," said Amberley, nodding. "They don't have the same sense of self preservation that we do."

"Is this relevant?" asked Pavok. "We can study Radiant psychology when the current crisis is over."

"Understanding your enemy is the first step to defeating him," replied Amberley. "We've been assuming that they think more or less the same way we do, that their motives and world view are more or less the same as ours. I don't think we can assume that any more. Their minds may be as different as their bodies. Understanding in what way they're different may suggest a strategy for dealing with them."

"Look into it, will you?" said Leothan. "Get the psych warfare boys to work on it. Not quite what they're used to, but maybe they'll relish the challenge." The Field Marshall nodded and made another note in his notebook.

The King went back to the map. "Is there any realistic chance we can win this war?" he asked. "With our better equipment we thought we were about evenly matched against the Carrowmen alone, but with the Radiants helping them?"

"If we can take the Radiants out of the war, we can still give a good account of ourselves," said Amberley. "Some of the men have been arming themselves with bows and arrows, tipping them with burning tar. How effective they'll be I have no idea."

"Radiants have to come close to cast curses," mused Larren. "The question is, how close do they have to be to cause an earthquake? The eight that attacked the city were all pretty low to the ground, but that may just have been so they could attack the palace. If they have to come low to start an earthquake, they'll be vulnerable to attack from the ground."

"If we've got something to attack them with," said Pavok. "Bows and arrows? If they're not scared of death and are willing to commit themselves in large numbers, I'm afraid I don't see bows and arrows being of much use."

"They served our ancestors well during the Brey War..." pointed out Amberley.

"The Brey were only armed with spears."

"They were a formidable cavalry force that outnumbered our ancestors three to one. Infantry against a cavalry force three times the size is supposed to be suicide, but they threw them back. Left thousands dead on the field."

"Perhaps now isn't the time for a history lesson," said Leothan. "Bows and arrows that the men are making themselves probably aren't the best quality. Is there any chance we can manufacture quality weapons in numbers and supply them to the men?"

"We may not have to. Archery is a popular sport. There are probably hundreds of bows in the city right now."

"Sporting bows, not proper weapons," protested Pavok. "And it takes time to learn how to use a bow and arrow."

"A Radiant is a big target. It'd be like hitting a barn door, and how different is a sporting bow from a proper weapon? They both shoot arrows."

"A sporting bow is all about accuracy, while we need range and penetrating power. Still, I suppose they might serve as a stopgap until we can get the incendiary ammunition."

"Exactly!" Amberley thumped the table with his fist. "They might not have the same sense of self preservation that we do, but I bet that if we kill enough of them the rest'll keep their distance. Then it'll be just us and Carrow in a straight up slugging match."

He was trying to sound upbeat and optimistic, but everyone in the room knew just how desperate their situation really was. An awkward silence fell, and Amberley tried to break it by making his excuses and leaving to carry out the King's instructions. Everyone else remained, though, and the meeting went on for another hour or so.

Everyone was hoping that someone else would come up with some brilliant idea that would save them all, Leothan realised. Himself included. It was a depressing realisation, because it meant that they all believed that their eventual defeat was inevitable. They would do their best, of course. They would make plans and give orders, and if necessary they would take up arms themselves in a last desperate defence of the King, but none of them really thought they had a chance of victory. Leothan dismissed the meeting, therefore, wishing he'd done it the minute Amberley had left, and a pair of guards fell in beside him as he made his way back to the Ministerial Building.

Outside the palace, the gardeners were still cutting up a fallen tree and they stood and bowed as the King went past. Four more guards joined him as he walked the short distance along the gravel drive, past neatly mown lawns and perfectly arranged flower beds, to Liberty Avenue where uniformed men held back the traffic for him. Balhern had tried to persuade him to use a carriage whenever he made this short trip, but Leothan was determined to show the people of the city that he wasn't afraid of Radiants or Carrow assassins. By doing this I'm demonstrating my trust in them, he thought, and my confidence that we'll win this war. I'm demonstrating my confidence that peace and prosperity will return. Also, the sight of him walking to his temporary quarters was a reminder to those living in the tent city that he had also lost his home, even though the hardships he was suffering were as nothing compared to theirs.

The people appreciated it and waved and cheered at the sight of him, some of them waving little flags. Leothan waved back, trying not to think that there very well might be a Carrow assassin hiding in the crowd, even now aiming a pistol at him. There were guards in the crowd as well, of course, scanning the people around them for anyone moving suspiciously, and the men of his escort were doing the same, ready to throw him to the ground and cover him with their bodies at the first sight of something they didn't like, even though the King had been well trained in several forms of combat and might well be better able to handle an assassin than any of his guards.

It was a hot day with a cloudless blue sky, and Leothan was struck by the fact that, for the first time he could remember, the sky was completely empty of Radiants. Other people were feeling the same thing, he saw. Several of the people in the crowd were looking upwards, scanning the sky with their eyes, looking both relieved at the absence of the floating creatures and fearful that they might suddenly return.

If they did, the guards surrounding him had several of their precious incendiary rounds, ready to turn the creatures into balls of red fire. Others had been given to the guards around the telegraph room, to protect their communications with the rest of the world, and more were even now being taken to Adams Valley by their fastest rider, to protect the scientists who would, the King hoped, soon create the device that everyone had begun calling the Electric Messiah.

The final eight were being carried by the guards accompanying Princess Ardria to Carrow. He spent a moment in aching worry for his beloved daughter, then remembered that the crowds were still watching him and made himself give them a cheery wave. Upholding confidence and morale might well be the most important thing he was doing right now.

The Ministry Building had also suffered damage in the earthquake, although less than the palace, which had been at the epicentre, and the King knew that work was going on inside to make repairs. The first priority, though, had been to remove all external sign of the attack, for morale purposes and to give the impression of normality. Even so, though, there were still indentations of bright, clean stone, starkly visible amongst the dark, grimy pollution that covered the rest of the building, where several decorative gargoyles had fallen.

All but two of the guards accompanying him stopped at the doorway as the King went in, past bowing doorman who held the door for him. Inside was a bustle of activity as junior officials went about their business, pausing only to bow as they scurried along the oak-panelled corridors and in and out of committee rooms and private offices. He made for the stairs by the quickest route, not wanting his mere presence to disturb the business of government any more than necessary, and went up to the guest rooms normally used by politicians visiting from distant parts of the country.