by Brian Murray
“Dark Brethren to me!” he called, stepping forward as his men massed around him.
“My friend, you were wrong to come here alone,” shouted the general.
“Who says he is alone?” called Dax, stepping out of the shadows to join his friend, the former blacksmith.
“Two of you, that’s grand.”
“Who says anything about two?” called Tanas, as he joined the others in the gateway, his brown, ripped leather coat billowing behind him in the breeze. The three men stepped forward into the palace grounds, leaving room between them and the gateway.
“Even three of you cannot defeat my men. We are the elite of our force and you are a pitiful joke . . . Be gone!”
“That’s not what I hear. Thousands of your colleagues’ sorry souls have been sent to Hell,” announced Zane, striding casually to join his friends.
“Four mere mortals, you make me laugh.”
“We will see who is laughing. You face King Zane of the Rhaurns, Dax my Warlord, Tanas the blind warrior, and Gammel, who I believe needs no introduction.”
“But four of you, you jest!”
“Who said anything about four of us,” said Zane, holding his fist aloft. With that, nearly one thousand axe-wielders filed in behind them. “These men defeated your brethren at the Glass Mountain. And they will defeat you now.”
Gammel pulled out his broadsword and stepped forward. “I see that you remember me, I am your fear. I am here and you will die. You killed my wife and my daughter, now face the husband and father.” He roared his battle cry and charged at the Dark Brethren.
***
Rayth stood in the middle of the road as the old general turned to face him.
“Remember me, I am the last standing axe-wielder from Ractenack Pass. Dank has died, so I am the last to know of your cowardliness.”
“Horde, to me!” called the general, taking a step back.
“Now, be a good fellow and open the gates.”
“You may be an axe-wielder, but you cannot defeat us all. One man against my Horde.”
“Who said anything about him being alone?” called Zorain, now wearing his City Watch red coat.
“Ah, what do we have here? An axe-wielder . . . and you must be Captain Zorain of the City Watch. I am sorry about your men, but I heard they cried like babes begging for mercy.”
Zorain and Rayth took a step forward.
“I will repeat myself only once, open the gates!” commanded Rayth, his voice strong.
Casually the general ordered, “Men, cut them down!”
About two hundred men charged at the pair. Rayth and Zorain waited for a moment, then turned on their heels and ran around the corner. Once there, they stopped, heading off nearly one thousand men who had heeded Zorain and Emyra’s call.
The Horde reached the corner and Rayth raised his axe and roared, “For our king and city!”
The odd pair, the innkeeper and the captain of the City Watch, led the charge into the Horde, hacking and slashing.
***
Within the grounds of the palace the axe-wielders charged into the Dark Brethren, led by Gammel, his broadsword already bloodied. With axes cutting, cleaving, and chopping, the axe-wielders pushed the Dark Brethren back.
Two Dark Brethren attacked Dax. He cut left and his axe connected with a man’s helm. Chopping down and rolling his body, he slashed out, one axe cleaving into one man’s head and the second, as he spun, taking the other warrior in the throat backhanded. He stepped over the bodies and moved closer to the palace.
Tanas split his staff to create his two short swords. Attacked by three Dark Brethren, he stepped back to give himself some room. Diving forward, he impaled two of the three warriors in their throats and pulling his swords free, landed on his back and kicked up, knocking the third warrior over. Rising swiftly, he stabbed the fallen warrior with both swords then, with purpose, moved towards the palace. Two more of the black warriors attacked.
Gammel pushed forward with his eyes locked on the retreating General Polalic. Taking several cuts, the former blacksmith roared with contempt. He pushed forward, killing anyone who stood in his way. Dax tried his best to follow the giant, but the massing Dark Brethren blocked his path. Dax saw the former blacksmith reach the Dark Brethren’s general, surrounded by another twenty Dark Brethren. Gammel stood out with his orange hair, like a lonely candle in the darkness.
***
At the outer gate, Rayth and Zorain led the reserves forward towards the gate, cutting and slicing. The archers disobeyed orders from the general to shoot as their own men were mixed in the melee. More and more of the Horde came off the wall to fight the city’s reserves.
Rayth could see the guarded gate and called for a surge forward. The reserves obeyed and pushed harder, many men slipping on the blood of others that created a slimy coating covering the brick and cobbled streets. Many tripped over the dead, but they rose and kept going, pushing towards the gates.
***
Outside the city walls, the two generals could hear the distinct sound of battle raging inside. They felt like warriors without a sword – there was nothing they could do to help. On the walls, the archers were aiming their arrows at them. They had no scaling ladders and all they could do was wait. And waiting tore at their souls; they could not help their kin fight for freedom.
***
Inside the outer wall, Rayth hacked at anyone who stood in his way. He received a cut on the arm, but this did not slow him down. He then killed his attacker. He was slashed across the chest, but this did not stop him. He killed that man. He received a cut across his back but that did not stop him. Zorain killed the attacker. Rayth pushed on; he had to reach the gate. He received another cut to his arm and again he killed the man. Then as he reached the gate, he felt a stabbing pain in his back. Rayth touched the gate. The pain surged through his shoulder and blood flowed freely from the wound. He fell, his body sliding down the wooden gate. His attacker left the innkeeper for dead and rejoined the fighting.
***
Dax screamed out Gammel’s name and pushed forward.
Zane heard the call and pushed towards his friend.
Tanas also heard the call and pushed towards his friend, swiftly killing two more Dark Brethren. The axe-wielders followed their king deeper into the melee.
Gammel swung his broadsword and killed a Dark Brethren, snapping his sword in two, and received a cut across his torso. He swung his sword backhanded and killed another of the warriors.
He stepped forward towards the general. A blade lanced into the blacksmith’s side. Gammel elbowed the warrior full in the face, driving splinters of the man’s nasal bones up into his brain.
He stepped forward.
Gammel slashed left and right, killing with each swing. Dead, bloodied corpses littered the blacksmith’s wake. The huge man pushed on. A sword pierced Gammel’s back. He turned and killed the man wielding the bloodied blade. He turned back to face the general – the creator of his hate. He stepped forward, punching the next warrior who moved into his path. He was stabbed again, in the side. Gammel grunted. He slapped away that man, sending him sprawling. General Polalic lunged forward and stabbed his nemesis in the stomach. Gammel grunted.
***
Dax saw his friend amidst the Dark Brethren. He felt helpless, unable to reach him. With a roar, he started to cut a desperate path.
***
Gammel looked down and dropped his broadsword. He grabbed the general’s wrist and hauled the man towards him, pulling the general’s blade through his own body. With a roar, Gammel slapped the general, sending him backwards. He grabbed the hilt of the sword in his stomach. Choking on his own blood, releasing a primal growl, Gammel heaved the blade free. Now swaying, the blacksmith took an unsteady step forward, dropping the bloody sword that clanged on the palace steps. His curly ginger hair was matted against his head with sweat.
Another blade lanced Gammel’s side. Weakly, he slapped his attacker away. He stepped forward
but his legs failed him. He collapsed onto his knees. Gammel glared up at the general with pure rage in his eyes. The blacksmith willed his body on, but he had no strength left.
General Polalic reacted quickly. He pulled a dagger from its sheath and slashed it across the blacksmith’s throat, releasing a weak plume of blood. Gammel’s eyes rolled in his head and he slumped forward.
***
“NO!”
Dax watched Gammel fall. With tears swelling in his violet eyes, he lowered his axes and walked straight towards his fallen friend. With Zane defending his left and Tanas his right, Dax ignored the fighting around him and knelt by his friend. Putting down his axes, he turned him over and lifted his head.
“Dax,” spluttered Gammel, grabbing Dax’s jerkin while blood bubbled in his mouth. “I . . . I failed.”
With tears flowing down his face, Dax spoke softly. “It will never be said that you failed. You are a great man and you fought bravely, and I will finish him for you.”
“I can see my wife and my princess. They are waiting for me. Dax, they look so happy.”
Dax rocked backwards and forwards as his friend spoke.
“Yes princess, your bear is coming. No, I won’t be leaving you this time. Yes darling, your bear is home. Dax, I have my princess. Now go, get your boy.”
Dax watched as Gammel closed his arms and hugged his invisible daughter. Then he was gone.
Dax roared as his friend’s hand slipped from his jerkin. He gently lowered Gammel’s head, retrieved his axes, and put them into his harness. He reached for Gammel’s broadsword.
With his head bowed, the warrior rose and faced the Dark Brethren general, who had not moved. Looking up into the man’s eyes, Dax said, “You are Polalic and I am your death. My friend died a heroic death, but you will die like the sor you are.”
Moving forward, Dax raised Gammel’s broadsword, forged by the man’s father and swung, aiming for the general’s neck. The sword passed through chain mail, skin, muscle, and bone, but it was not the general’s. A Dark Brethren had broken through the defensive ring created by Zane and Tanas and run forward to protect his general with his life. Dax slashed and hacked with the broadsword. At his feet, in his wake, lay the bloody carnage of his fury, but he could not reach the general.
Dax roared in maddened anger as he was forced back, away from the general. Now standing over Gammel’s body, Dax refused to move back any further. He had received several cuts to his arms, but the warriors who dared get close all perished. He watched in agonising pain as the general turned, ran up the steps, and disappeared inside the palace. Pushing forward with Zane and Tanas, they left a wake of massacre as they edged towards the steps. Behind them, the axe-wielders rallied and carved a path to their king and his friends. Soon a defensive ring of axe-wielders surrounded the three bloodied men. With menacing purpose, Dax, Zane, and Tanas stalked up the palace stairs and entered the dark building.
***
Rayth was left for dead as the Horde started to push the city reserves back. He could feel his life fluid flowing out of him. He looked up at the sky and saw the moon. “I will be with you soon, Aurillia,” he whispered.
From deep in his soul, he heard a voice. The sound became clearer and clearer. “You do not give up now. Rayth, listen to me, you will not give up now.”
“But I am dying,” he told the voice of his wife.
“You will not die now, do you hear me? Our Aurillia will be getting married and you will not die. Think of your Aurillia. Think of your child. I have never left you, Rayth, and we will never be parted.”
“But I miss you.”
“And I you, but now is not your time. GET UP!”
Tears of pain rolled down Rayth’s cheeks as he forced himself onto his feet. He looked back and saw Zorain and Conn battling hard against the Horde. Rayth stumbled to the lever and punched the guard unconscious. Every fibre in his body ached as he pulled the lever down, releasing the massive iron bolts hidden within the door. Then putting his bloody back to the gates, he pushed. Slipping on his own blood, he roared with effort. Slowly, the gates swung open and the innkeeper slumped onto the floor, his clothes saturated with his own blood. He did not have the strength to move.
***
Outside the city, General Brooks saw the gates open and without hesitation he turned to his messenger. “Heavy cavalry.”
Instantly, the flag was lowered.
Below the generals, the horsemen heeled their mounts. Behind them the other horsemen slapped their small shields with their swords and roared, then started their thunderous charge towards the gates.
***
Zorain watched Rayth push the gates, then fall, as they swung open. Knowing the horsemen would be the first through the gates, he had to reach the former axe-wielder before he was trampled to death. Pushing his opponent out of the way, he shouted the command so that the reserves would not be trampled. “Retreat!”
Zorain then raced towards the gates with Conn at his side. Unchallenged, he reached the fallen Rayth and managed to pull him clear just as the first horse thundered through the gates and clattered onto the street. Now the armoured horsemen slammed through the Horde with their lances levelled. The fighting at the outer gate turned in favour of the city.
Zorain checked for signs of life. Rayth lived, just, but he was losing a lot of blood.
***
Inside the palace, Dax plunged the broadsword into the first Dark Brethren who dared cross his path. Managing to sheathe the sword in his harness, he drew his favoured short axes. His mind was on a single mission; his vengeance and promise would now wait until he got his boy back. Once safe, the mighty warrior would find the Dark Brethren’s general. He could not hide anywhere; nowhere would be safe from Dax’s wrath. Ducking under a wild swing, Dax swung his axe underhanded into the sword wielder’s groin, lifting the man off his feet.
Not breaking his stride, Dax moved like a man with a purpose, his gaze forward, his mind focused on death. At his sides walked Tanas, the blind warrior, and Zane, King of the Rhaurns – killing all in their path, leaving a bloody trail littered with bodies behind them. They reached the banquet door and killed the two guards. At the large wooden doors, Dax cocked his head to one side and smiled. He kicked them open, unhinging one of them and sending it clattering loudly on the stone floor. He watched as the priestess held a dagger above Thade’s body. She looked up and smiled, when the door slammed onto the floor. She blinked slowly. Her smile broadened. Her hands started to plunge down.
***
Krondo had proudly entered the palace in his black hooded robe, carrying his ceremonial sword, his wife at his side. He had never been to the palace before and this was a special treat for him. They entered the banquet hall and to Krondo’s surprise discovered that the hall had been painted black, and all the windows blocked. Heavy black drapes hung from the ceiling, forming a tent over the congregation. At the front, on a small stage, was a stone altar. Krondo had not seen the altar before and from where he sat he could not see the blood caked on the stone. Blue smoke filled the air, making it difficult to breathe. Unknown to Krondo and most of the congregation, extracts of the balamine plant was being burned, giving off hypnotic fumes.
After the congregation had settled, all wearing hooded robes, the ceremony started.
The ceremony began as usual but then to Krondo’s surprise, a strange beast dragged in a man. The congregation’s gasp was audible when the huge creature ambled into the candlelight and held its prisoner down as he was strapped to the altar. Krondo could just make out the signs of torture on the man’s face and bare torso, and shifted uneasily on his bench. The rite then took on a darker tone. Many of the followers started to moan and groan, as the temperature in the hall started to rise. Krondo looked across at his wife but he could not see her face inside her hood. The high priestess continued to chant and poured the contents of a small bag on the chest of the man strapped to the altar. Feeling uncomfortable at the sight before him, Krondo again sh
ifted on his bench. Finally, the high priestess brought out a dagger. Only then did Krondo fully realise what was happening.
The words of his son thundered in his mind and Krondo sat on his bench in shock as the ritual continued. His mind cleared, like a cloud passing before the sun, and he looked around the hall with fresh eyes. He rose from his bench, about to cry out his disgust when a huge crash clattered behind him. The double door flew open, one crashing to the ground. An awesome warrior carrying two axes stood silhouetted in the doorway. At that point, Krondo realised his mistake. Instantly, he decided to leave the hall and leave the Temple of the Path. Tugging his wife, Krondo rose to leave the hall carrying his ceremonial sword at his side.
***
At the outer wall, the fighting was ferocious. General Brooks sent forward the rest of his cavalry. Inside the wall the remaining axe-wielders, having disembarked from the Gliding Falcon, joined the reserves and pushed forward. With the help of the heavy cavalry, the footmen pushed the Horde back and headed towards the steps, to the rampart. They climbed the steps and fought the men on the wall. With the seasoned axe-wielders leading, they cut a bloody, murderous path along the rampart for the others. Whoever drew arms against the warriors was killed without mercy.
***
The Horde regrouped and held the rampart. Many of the archers dropped their bows and armed themselves with swords while others continued firing on the charging Rhaurien horsemen. Below the wall, the cavalries galloped in and General Brooks gave the order for the foot soldiers to march in. Seeing his comrades marching forward under a hail of arrows, the captain of the axe-wielders on the rampart rallied his men and they pushed forward. They needed to stop the archers.
The Rhaurn foot soldiers continued their march towards the gate.
At the gate, Zorain screamed for a healer. In his arms was the bleeding Rayth, but no one heard his screams over the clamour of battle.
Looking down at Rayth, Zorain whispered, “Live man, live.”