"Allah preserve us. Prince Jadar's Rajputs have eaten so much affion I think they can fight even after they die, but their numbers are already shrinking. How long can they protect the prince?"
"Where's he now?"
She turned back and peered through the dust on the field for a long moment. Then she pointed. "He's on the field now. There, in the center. Do you see him?" She paused. "He's very courageous to take the field so early. It will inspire his men, but it's a very bad omen."
Hawksworth squinted toward the east. He could barely make out a phalanx of elephants moving across the plains, into the middle of the fiercest fighting. Several of the elephants had clusters of two-pound swivel guns mounted on their backs, a few had rocket launchers, but most carried howdahs filled with Rajput archers. In the center moved a large black elephant, heavily armored and bearing a steel howdah decorated with ornate gilding. Standing erect in the howdah, beneath a huge embroidered umbrella, was the figure of Prince Jadar, loosing arrows in rhythmic succession as the Imperial infantry closed around him.
"Why is it a bad sign?"
"It's unwise for the supreme commander of an army to expose himself so early in the battle." Shirin was watching Jadar, transfixed. "If he's killed, the battle will be over. All his troops will flee."
"Even his fearless Rajputs?"
"That's the way in India. If he's lost, what do they have left to fight for? They will melt into the forest. In India a commander must always be visible to his men, standing above the armor of his howdah, so they'll know for certain he's alive."
As the circle of elephants surrounding Jadar advanced through the field, a triple line of his Rajput infantry moved into place around him. He quickly became the focus of the battle, and the Imperial infantry massed to encircle him, like the king in a game of chess. His protective buffer of elephants was coming under increasingly heavy attack. The advantage of surprise enjoyed by his original offensive was gone. Now he was clearly on the defensive.
"I think Jadar's starting to be in serious trouble. You were right. I don't know how much longer his circle of elephants can protect him."