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not within; from the base of the inner wall, trees marched in unbroken ranks into the city proper.
    The walls themselves, though built of massive stone blocks, looked like a natural feature of the land; a dense overgrowth of flowering vines crept up to just below the parapets. A formidable, double-towered stone gatehouse guarded the main entrance, and the shadow cast by the artificial cliff face spread premature nightfall over a large section of the town below. As they drew closer, Jelena got a better look at the walls’ luxuriant drapery of vegetation.
    Each vine sported fragrant clusters of white flowers amid rows of brutal thorns, easily as long as her index finger. She shuddered at the thought of what that punishing curtain would do to anyone who tried to scale it.
    They passed beneath the gatehouse and rode into the city itself, entering via a broad, gravel-bedded avenue lined with a bewildering assortment of shops, inns, and taverns. Many of the buildings were constructed around the boles of the trees, incorporating them into the design of the structure. Ladder-like staircases snaked up the trunks of many of the larger trees, leading to structures set on platforms among the spreading branches.
    The street teemed with people, all intent on the business of life. In shop windows, above doorways, and along the streets, lanterns flared to life, banishing the dusk. Other lights, twinkling like stars overhead, hung from boughs, balconies, and the upcurved ends of roof gutters.
    As in the rural district and suburbs, the city exuded an aura of prosperity, but despite the appearance of normalcy, Jelena could sense a subtle undercurrent of tension floating in the air, like the smell of far-off corruption. She studied individual faces among the throng and found on every one the unmistakable marks of worry.
    The elves of Sendai were afraid.
    She pointed out her observation to Ashinji.
    “The people know that war with the Soldarans is coming,” he replied, tight-lipped. “The population of the Empire is easily ten times that of Alasiri, with an Imperial Army at least triple in number to our fighting forces. The odds are very much against us. The people know it, the king and his council know it, yet we have no choice but to try to defend ourselves. If we don’t stop the invasion, the humans will overrun all of Alasiri and take our land for their own in order to relieve the great pressure of their growing population. It would surely mean death or slavery for most of us.”
    Jelena shivered with dread. She knew from firsthand experience how humans, or more specifically, how Soldarans felt about elves, and she had no doubt of the truth of Ashinji’s words. A conquered Alasiri would be dealt with harshly, its lands depopulated with brutal efficiency and quickly resettled by landless Soldarans eager for homesteads of their own.
    Jelena tried to imagine such a catastrophe and couldn’t. Her mind would not, could not form those images of horror and despair, simply because she had never experienced death and destruction on such a massive scale. She prayed that she never would.
    Ashinji had fallen silent, and the set of his jaw told Jelena that he no longer felt like talking, so she turned her attention to the castle ahead.
    The great fortress of Sendai Castle sat atop a hill rising from the heart of the city, dominating the view from all quarters. The broad road upon which they approached led to the edge of a vast, gravel-covered parade ground laid out beneath the castle walls.
    The architecture of the castle closely resembled that of Kerala, except on a much grander scale, and rendered almost entirely of whitewashed stone instead of wood. The red light of the dying sun painted the walls a bloody crimson.
    A mounted figure emerged from the shadows beneath the main gate and approached at a trot. Jelena grinned as the figure resolved itself into Aneko. As second in command of Kerala’s guard, she had gone ahead to announce the arrival of