First Moves of the Alliance

The Orcans and Salayans had been busy while awaiting the arrival of the Wocan. When she showed up, besides the alliance plan itself, she found an integrated war band well into its training, and human-elf cooperation proceeding at a breath-taking pace. While peaceful, the very nature of the Elfen nomadic existence requires a war leader and the preparedness to defend themselves from the unknown at all times. This is the primary role of the Wocan, along with being the official representative of the Mother Elf in all matters conducted away from the fleet. The Salayans, having never before dealt with more than the occasional vile interlopers in small bandit gangs, are more than happy to cede control of the combined war band to the Wocan, allowing them to rely on her experience and knowledge to not only lead, but pass on her skills to increase the power and readiness of both tribes to be equal partners in the alliance that carries all their hopes for a stronger, brighter, and more stable future based on trust rather than race and tribe. In a break from past tradition, Anaya herself assumes the role of second in command, naming Julia her successor and the one who speaks with her voice whenever alliance duties carry her away from home. In addition to the actual war band, the Orcans and Salayans each provide a quartermaster in charge of logistics responsible for gathering their tribes share of supplies and provisions for the war bands and working together to provide for security in transporting these essential materials to the war band. This created a bit of humor among the elfs, who learned that translations from various usage in the human tongue into the elf language led them to the one who steers the ship. They all decided they must permanently anchor their vessels so their "quartermasters" could learn to steer a supply cart!

In addition to the twelve people already serving in the four scouting groups, the war band will consist of 65 warriors fully integrated and broken down into three twenty-warrior groups and and five staff for the two leaders. Owing to the larger size of the Orcan tribe, the war band contains a total of 25 Salayans and 40 Orcans, completely integrated into a single army, as will the scouts be once their current mission is complete. This creates a total military force of 79 in the war band. Add to this a dozen guards for six supply carts, along with the two per cart, dozen cart haulers, who can either run the carts to safety or drop the carts and join the guards in a fight, whichever the situation requires. This creates a dedicated defense force of 120 when those in the rear whose sole responsibility is gathering materiel and preparing it for shipment are included. They can, of course, rely on the assistance of others within the tribes who have other duties, but lend a hand as the logistics personnel need it. Not included in the defense force tally are those each tribe deploys locally as a home guard. This is not a huge beginning, but it is much more than either tribe could hope to field on its own for the purpose of taking the fight to their enemy.

The two groups had made an excellent start before the Wocan's arrival with more personnel, and it was only two days from the time she arrived to the day the war band was ready to move. Rather than Wocan, within the Defense Force, as the war band and its support services came to be known, old human terms were used. The Wocan and Anaya were both generals as well as the Commander and Assistant Commander of Defense Forces. Their five staff were divided into Colonels responsible for Security, Intelligence and Special Operations, Plans and Operations, Logistics, and Communications. Much of these duties would be small for now, but made allowances for growth of the tribes through both their success as an alliance and through the anticipated integration of others into the alliance when like minded groups were willing to serve the alliance, defend the alliance, and reap the benefits of the alliance. Though newer groups would always be on "trial basis" until they proved themselves, everyone was hopeful that this could be the beginning for a major force for good in the shaping of New Earth's future.

Next in command were a major and two captains, each responsible for a twenty warrior company, with the major responsible for assuming overall tactical command in the heat of battle if for any reason the command group is incapacitated or unable to send out orders. Each twenty warrior company contains the commander, a lieutenant as second in command, a senior sergeant, three sergeant squad leaders, three corporal assistant squad leaders, nine squad members at three per squad and two runners for communication with the other companies and with the command group communications officer.

The elfen contingent had a few other tricks up their sleeves. The elves all had a natural telepathy that did not allow for "mind reading", but did allow for communication. This ability was short range, so it couldn't be used to speak from campaign trail to home or anchorage, and it required a degree of concentration that made it all but useless in combat. What it did provide was a quick and easy means to communicate the daily routine messages to and from command group and company encampments. Added to this, the colonel in charge of intelligence and special operations, plus one elf in each company are what the elfs term battle mages. Though limited in abilities, they have two abilities of use in battle to cause confusion and fear. They can produce a fog that can always screen their forces. At the right time of day and in the right weather, it can also be made to appear normal, keeping the enemy unaware until alliance forces are in their midst. They can also produce a fireball which can incinerate a target at up to 50 yards, as well as give nasty burns to anyone foolish enough to attempt to put it out. It must be aimed, but if it misses, it will still ignite whatever it hits first up to its maximum range. This can be useful to take out important targets, especially if they are protected or armoured against other ranged weapons, but regardless of what it is used against, it always makes a great terror weapon.

The Salayans possess an interesting piece of old technology that could prove very useful, but only if more can be found. Both they and the Orcans lack the knowledge to build it, but once its purpose is explained, the Commander makes locating more of them a priority. What they have is a long-range two-way radio, but they assure the elfs that more exist and that there are short range versions as well. The one they possess is powered by a secondary machine called a stationary bicycle, not hard to reproduce if radios can be found. Many of the short-range versions run on what is called a disposable battery, but others are rechargeable. If such could be found, they have surviving instructions for how to deliver power to what is called a charging station. There still remain many places where such may survive, mainly because the areas were the most devastated by plague and still carry a taboo stigma even though no one is left alive who is actually susceptible to the great plagues anymore. Using the unit they have, the Salayans have made occasional contact with others, usually far away and sometimes even on one of the other continents. Since the Salayans have, prior to this goblin invasion, always been content in their home forests, this technology has never really mattered to them. Now though, they were quick to note its potential and pass the information on to their elfen friends.

Along with those of a military nature, other integration initiatives were quickly begun. To facilitate communication via elfen telepathy, a new base was required. The Orcans were currently docked along the shore or anchored in the inland waterway that past between the small coastal mountain range and the much greater mountain range that paralleled the coastline for hundreds of miles. The Salayans made their home in the foothills of this much larger range with their home territory encompassing some of the inland plains around the waterways and some of the mountain range itself. For safety sake, their home settlement is deep within a high valley on the western edge of the higher mountains, and this places it out of range for Elf telepathy. A single new joint settlement is all that would be required to form a continuous and near instant communication link to increase safety and draw the two peoples closer into the total unification they seek.

In addition to the new joint settlement, many of the elfs choose to remain at the main Salayan settlement, both as part of official duties in support of the alliance, and as a means to gain a more in depth knowledge of the way of the mountains, forests and plains. In return, many humans choose to live with the Orcans and gain greater knowledge of wind and wave. The leadership is all hopeful for a future in which full integration is no longer a plan. They look to the day when it simply another joyful fact of life. Aside from the obvious, integration is already creating changes everywhere, just within a matter of weeks. Some of the new residence of each tribe have brought children along and some have chosen to teach language and culture in each other's schools. Already the children are beginning to speak a language all their own with elements of both languages merged into a harmonious whole. In another harmonious joining, many elfen women have discovered a fondness for a human man. The reverse has also occurred. Within the elfen community men are far less numerous than women, but it is a matter of genetics and evolution rather than plague selectivity. This disparity has caused a culture in which promiscuity is not just accepted, it is expected. Also, the males represent a much larger portion of the elf population than do human males, so there are males within the war band and within the integrated population. This has the leaders, and a great many couples, hopeful that full integration is possible and that a hybrid of their species will be both possible and popular. Shamans and healers alike are doing their best to support this. This is another area of rapid integration. Salayan and Orcan healers are each quite learned, but shaped by their environment. They have quickly discovered that they each have treatments for various injuries and diseases that work better than the others. This exchange of knowledge is causing the effectiveness of medicinal practices to grow by leaps and bounds.

All in all the alliance has, in a few short weeks, far exceeded initial expectations and is continuing to amaze even those who envisioned the brightest of futures. Now the leaders hope that it will not be long before Orcans and Salayans will choose a new name that will show their status as a fledgling new nation for New Earth, and reflect the glorious future that they envision and will strive with all their combined will to bring to pass. It is actually the schoolchildren in the new joint settlement who chose a national motto for the new alliance. It was not martial, it was not ethnocentric, it brooked no exclusion, and it was simple.

Together Forever!