The fragility of life

Despite how organised the Lukresh army was, a chaotic situation would always be chaotic. The troops may have been warned in advance that ambushes would happen, but it's not like that perfectly prepared everyone for every possible situation. In this case, the terrain was the main issue. The proximity to the ravine was enough to put everyone on edge and certain practised military formations simply wouldn't work.

Despite the obvious discomfort though, Dahlia noticed something unusual. The elites weren't taking part in the battle. Valentina remained near her but didn't show any signs of engaging in combat unless necessary and the other elites were even less involved. She could see nearly all of them standing to the rear closer to the ravine or in some cases even flying off the cliff face or repositioning to the far side. As she tried to figure out what was going on though, the low gentle voice could be heard beside her.