Resolved, we agreed upon the assault plan and took to land, sea and air. I am not a military genius. I am a cleric of incense and insight, but I am also a negotiator. This is why this force has united and agreed to the attack upon the sharkman force. It is not that I knew a plan to make any one of them invincible. It is that I could show them a plan in which they would each compete for glory against those who might otherwise be much bloodier rivals, and unite them against the most lethal creatures I have seen. Each part of this invading force might fall to the sharkmen individually, and Portlandio herself could become just a feeding ground and ruins. But together, the grave threat could be destroyed. I have had only responsibility for myself in my younger years, then, for tending to others, then for creating treaties that would affect many. Then everything changed when I was brought in to the Challengers of Destiny. We have travelled, defended each other, healed each other, and helped each other. They taught me bravery. When I interwove bravery with responsibility, this battle plan emerged. Sea elves, tritons, lizardfolk, swampfolk, Portlandions and all their allied forces could break the back of the sharkmen if we moved together, and soon. And so the day came. Each force shared a muster plan, drawn up on waterproofed skins, delivered days earlier, and then from the deck of the Sea Spear I flew the rounds to each vessel and commander, sharing the final battle orders, and dropped the scrolls to the awaiting land and underwater commanders. Then up, to high above the Fort I flew, deployed the Silver Ring to stand upon, and stood ready. Below me, an horrific pit of death, deep into the water. Above, a clear sky, and maritime breezes from the west. Upon first sight of the Sea Spear and its escort group, I drew forth the flags from my quiver and unfurled them. Two, striped black and yellow. I flapped my wings to draw attention and then held the flags wide, walking a full revolution on the Ring, gazing down at the Fort. There was no activity at all, from below; apparently, sharkmen never look up. One black and yellow flag was rolled up and tucked away, repaced by yellow and green. This I used to direct the escort fleet to their positions, around the Fort and then into a staggered-facing picket line. The red and yellow flag was dipped for each vessel to close ranks into receiving position, then I turned to the wide seas to the south, where I knew the merfolk, tritons, sea elves and more would be on alert from the waves. I flagged circles and pointed both flags to their positions, and then turned to the Sea Spear and held both wings and flags straight up, to Airen. In moments, I could see a massive black fly with Airen atop it take off from the foredeck, and make their semicircular flight over the beach and around the Fort, to drop the chumbuckets we’d prepared to distract the sharkmen and their hundreds of shark servants. Airen’s flight cued the lizardfolk and swampfolk to come over the beach rise, and deploy along the sand. By now, there was activity below. With each stroke of a flag I hoped I would go unnoticed, as I cued and timed the deployment of each major force. At noon, I waved two green flags in figure-8s, and all of our forces engaged. I put the flags away, flapped hard to steady myself, commanded the silver ring into its smallest form, then wheeled, tucking one wing to spiral downwards. I cleaved into the water two hundred yards from the Fort’s southwest corner, Necklace of Adaptation enabled, Cloak of Underwater Flying wrapping around my wings, and I dove beak first, eyes open, to join the Challengers of Destiny in our deathstroke raid inside the beseiged Fort.
