The Anvil (The Dragon Guardian)

by I Heaton

  Chapter 24

  Alex and Tom went straight inside after the messenger finished explaining to pack. The Ilemite was angry at the Arstanians because of their defeat and had decided to send a giant army against them, and leading the army were both the remaining Supreme Generals. The small number of groups that stayed after the first army, like the one Tom and Alex had fought, had stayed behind to find and perhaps kill the Arstanian leaders and others who had been key in the Arstanian victory.

  Within a few hours Alex and Tom were with the small group of soldiers from Blangto marching towards Oltar’s Plains. That is where the kingdom’s army was assembling, but along the way groups of warriors and archers joined the group Tom was in, coming from nearby towns and villages. One day Josh silently joined the group, along with the vampires and four other Immortals.

  A week after they left, they arrived at Oltar’s Plains. Most of the southern army was already assembled on the plains. The Pontal River created a natural border between Ilemart and Arstan, with a large bridge crossing in the plains, on the Ilemart side was continued plains for a few more yards, then what used to be a forest, now thin woods due to the Ilemart wars and building. On the Arstanian side of the river stood Castle Yont, named for the first owner, and on the Ilemite side was a fort. Some Arstanian engineers and soldiers worked on various defences, sharpening large sticks and placing them in rows, digging trenches, making and preparing ballistas and other anti-siege weapons and setting traps.

  The traps were made by two groups of elite woodsmen, the Hunters and the Beastmasters. The hunters were great trappers, usually had a pet to help them hunt and were amazing at shooting the large longbows they used. The Beastmasters were able to tame the wildest of beasts by befriending them, also good shots with bows but usually used knives for fighting. Tom could see many animals some laying around and others helping their masters. Tom flew to where they were digging trenches and silently got a shovel and began digging.

  After an hour he took a break and ate lunch, a soup in a bread bowl. He then went to where they were placing the sharpened sticks near the river bank and started to help again. On the third day the Ilemite army started appearing on the other side of the river, groups would show up at random and join the mass of tents on both sides. The day after enemy troops started appearing one of the Supreme Generals flew into the enemy camp with a troop of wyvern and griffin riders.

  Three days after the first Supreme General the other showed with the last of the troops. The Arstanians had built many lines of defences, rows of sharpened sticks, weighted net throwing devices, traps, trenches and many other things, along with the defences already in place because of the castle. Some trenches had been filled with sharpened sticks, oil or other stuff, but some were left left empty for archers. The Ilemites had only made siege engines, confident in their numbers to keep the Arstanian forces from attacking back. Tom’s schedule was almost always the same, wake up, eat breakfast, dig trenches, take his turn on watch, eat lunch, sharpen sticks, place sticks, help set traps, eat dinner, go to sleep.

  Often Bryn, Madison or Zack would join him as he worked, but usually Tom worked without knowing the people near him. Tom’s thoughts often wondered, thinking about random things.

  Two days after the last of the enemy troops came Tom stood in his armour, watching the enemy camp and the land around both camps. Suddenly a hissing sound registered in Tom’s ear, becoming louder quickly.

  Tom flinched as an arrow hit the ground a foot away from his feet. He put the horn that was around his shoulder to his mouth and blew. More arrows starting coming and men along the sentry line started going down, Tom could also see the enemy warriors marching across the bridge and through the river. Tom stopped blowing, lifted his shield and got his axe out of it’s belt loop. He ran to the bridge, where the first of the enemy warriors were coming. He saw the ranks of enemy troops, organized into groups of one hundred known as legions, with ninety-nine soldiers and a commanding officer.

  Around him Arstanian troops ran with him, looking unorganized against the Ilemite legion. The front rows of enemy warriors lowered their spears, knowing the momentum of the Arstanians’ runs would impale them on the spears. But Tom slid under the spears and shields, into the feet of a front soldier. The man fell and Tom stood, smashing and hacking as more Arstanian warriors followed his example and slid inside. Arrows came in as the Ilemite warriors lowered their shields from the tortoise like formation to fight the warriors. Tom stood looking at the Ilemite soldiers, who had stopped and were looking at him and Arstanian warriors, who were in the middle of the Ilemite legion.

  Tom suddenly sent a pebble flying at a man, fast enough to smash the man’s forehead, then jumped towards the enemy, followed by the Arstanian warriors. They slowly fought their way out again, Tom getting stabbed in the leg by a Ilemite sword deflected off an Arstanian shield. Tom limped back to the rear of the Arstanian army, so he wouldn’t have to fight very hard. Someone handed him a bandage as they rushed passed, and Tom quickly wrapped his leg. He looked up and saw the Dragon Guardian battling enemy air forces, sometimes coming down low enough to send a column of fire from their mouth into the enemy ranks.

  Likewise the Ilemite forces swooped down, trying to weaken the Arstanian ground forces. Tom saw a enemy griffin diving near him and spread his wings, his leg may hurt but his wings were fine. He flew into the rider sending him back off the griffin. Luckily for Tom the rider tried to hang on the the reins and the griffin flew away as it’s mouth was yanked back. Tom looked around and joined the fight in the air. He flew below most the fighting and then went upwards, underneath a enemy dragon.

  He cut at the dragon’s leg with his axe, hitting the leg and making the dragon and enemy rider look away from the wyvern rider they were fighting, a fatal mistake as the wyvern bit the dragon’s neck and the wyvern rider stabbed the enemy rider. The rider nodded his thanks to Tom and flew away.

  Tom fought like a wasp, diving or coming up from below without warning and striking before they knew what happened. Tom didn’t get hit very much as the other aerial forces were giant and often slow whereas Tom, who was only a teenager with wings, fought quickly but with force. Often Tom would only distract an enemy fighting and watch as the Arstanian killed the enemy. Soon Tom was covered in blood, both others’ and his own, he had gotten cut on his forehead, a bruised shoulder and some other small injuries, but he kept fighting.

  After almost two hours the Ilemite forces fell back to their camp, leaving behind hundreds of dead littered on the ground, bridge and in the river. Tom glided back to his tent and bandaged his various wounds, cleaned his equipment and went to sleep. He woke in time for dinner and ate with Madison, Bryn and Zack. They told each other about what they had been doing, Madison had obviously decided to become a battle witch, Bryn was continuing her ranged training and Zack was learning how to fight riding Dejoni and various other ways of fighting. They laughed at their mistakes, varying from not being able to start a fire for some reason to, as Tom had done, miss blocking an attack that wounded you bad.

  They finished eating and went their separate directions to their tents. Tom fell asleep quickly, tired from the battle. Tom woke ate breakfast with the others then they all went to play a game of soccer. No fighting happened for the rest of the week, which everyone took advantage of, most the army worked on defenses but the youngest were allowed to relax most the day. The group of friends often sat around a campfire in the evening singing and playing music, all sang or played an instrument and in Tom’s case both.

  Sometimes one of the other teenagers or an adult would come over to sing or play, but most just sat and listened. Josh had started coming to sing and play his ukulele every evening after the first day. Monday morning Tom woke and crawled out of his tent and went to get breakfast. He found his friends after getting some eggs, bacon and toast. He sat down and talked to his friends while eating his breakfast. They all went to help sharpen more stakes, sitting next to each with Dejoni laying behind t
hem using his claws to help sharpen the stakes.

  Suddenly they heard a horn blow and looked up. The Ilemartain army was attacking. Tom hefted his axe, spread his wings and flew off with Zack and Dejoni behind him. They all already had their armour on so they could be ready whenever. Tom landed in the third row of warriors and had an idea. He told the men around him to put their shields together and soon they had a wall of shields bristling with spears and other weapons. They went to the bridge where fighting had already broken out.

  The Arstanian warriors joined the group walking across the bridge while the Ilemites forces hit the solid wall. The first row fought while the other rows added their weight to the forward movement. Tom saw Arstanian cavalry behind the solid infantry and told them to open a gap in the middle of the block. Luckily the cavalry commander knew what to do and charged through at the enemy pushing them off the bridge or trampling them.

  Then when the commander figured he lost the momentum he wheeled around and headed back to the Arstanian lines, which opened to let them through then closed. Suddenly an arrow hit the man beside him in the chest and Tom yelled for the rows besides the first to hold their shields over their heads and heard the arrows thud into the shields. The cavalry was ready again so the infantry opened once more. The Arstanian forces were about halfway across the bridge and had lost most the momentum.

  The cavalry hit the enemy scattering them once again, then as they lost momentum circled around again back to the Arstanian side. Tom knew soon the warriors would break apart as they were not disciplined enough to not try to fight alone. Almost as Tom finished the thought a man from the front wall broke away and attacked. Others quickly followed and chaos started.

  Only a few soldiers still stood with Tom so he told them to form a wedge with him in the lead. They ran towards the middle of the Ilemartain troops, hitting them and sending some off the bridge from the sides from the shock. He led the warriors in a series of half circles in and out of the Ilemite warriors, much like the cavalry had done. Soon the Ilemite forces realized they would have a better chance in the river than on the bridge and began to thin out on the bridge. Tom realized that this was a perfect opportunity to break into the enemy camp.

  He ran into the enemy troops with the warriors behind him, but instead of turning they continued forward. Tom had an idea and told the men to keep going, stopped and closed his eyes. He felt the river below him and tried to get control of it. Two more magic users helped him make the river stop and sweep over the Ilemite warriors on the bridge. Tom opened his eyes and started running again.

  As the last of the water ran off a giant black dragon landed in front of the Arstanian troops. Tamil, a Supreme General. The dragon blew fire across the Arstanain lines, Tom magically blocked some of the fire with some help. Tom picked up a javelin from the ground next to him and prepared to throw it. Tom hadn’t practiced with the javelin much but knew how to throw it. He mainly wanted to distract him or if he was lucky wound him. Tom threw the javelin and watched as it arched across the Arstanian lines, dipping towards the Supreme General. The head went into Tamil’s leg, pinning him to the saddle and distracting him.

  Suddenly five Dragon Guardian and Wyvern Riders landed near the General. Tamil tore the javelin from his leg and threw it at a Rider, hitting him in the chest, killing him. Tamil drew his sword and prepared to fight, his dragon baring his teeth and fire flickering in his nostrils. Tom ran forward and picked up a spear. The dragon clawed and snapped at the Arstanian forces. Tom knew what to do, the dragon opened his mouth to burn a Wyvern Rider and Tom jumped in front and stabbed the spear into the dragon’s mouth and down it’s throat. The fire was cut off almost as soon as it started as the dragon choked. Tom landed and pulled out his axe and hacked at the dragon’s neck over and over.

  The other forces fell on Tamil as Tom killed the dragon. Tom looked down at his hands for a moment then started walking back to camp. While Tom had stuck the spear in the dragon’s throat he had gotten blasted with some of the fire. Luckily he usually fought mostly covered in dragon scales, which were mostly fireproof and had lessened the burning. Tom almost collapsed in the entrance to the infirmary but got onto a bed as he lost consciousness.

  He woke an hour later on a bed with only shorts on, he could see the burns across his body. His hands had gotten the worst of it. He started to stand up but a healer told him to lay back down. He did and stayed in bed for about two days, the burns healing faster because of magic. He spent the next few days helping however he could, not many ways because his wounds were not totally healed. He often sat and thought about many things, his family and friends were the most frequent thoughts.

  One day he suddenly realized his birthday was the next week. He shook his head, My birthday doesn’t matter very much when we are at war he thought. He mentioned it when they all sat singing and playing music that night and no one seemed very interested. He figured they had the same thought as he did, not much time for celebration. After they finished Tom went back to his tent and lay awake for about an hour.

  Eventually he decided to walk around and after a while he found a tree, climbed it and sat in it thinking. He soon calmed his thoughts, went back to his tent and fell asleep. He was walking back from breakfast talking to Zack went they heard the horns, signalling an attack. Tom and Zack ran to their different tents, Tom pausing for a moment thinking of the burns, he quickly pushed the thought away. He started putting on his armour, the normal chainmail along with some plates of metal to increase the protection but limiting movement slightly. He started to tighten the straps on the plates but stopped because of the intense pain in his hands.

  He looked at his hands, covered in red burns. He pulled of the armour and knew he wouldn’t take part in this battle. Then he had an idea, he took the plates off the chainmail, put on the armour, picked up his weapons and ran off to join the archers. That way he wouldn’t need the extra protection and the smooth wood of the crossbow wouldn’t hurt his hands very much. He brought his other weapons in case he needed them. His spear strapped across his back, his axe and his two throwing axes in loops on his belt and a quiver on his leg.

  He ran to where the archers were stationed and began shooting with the rest of the archers, the commander calling the shots. After five shots the commander called “Fire at will!” and they all started shooting whenever they were ready. A rather humorous archer leaned over and whispered to Tom “I would hate to be Will.” Tom laughed and continued shooting.

  Suddenly a griffin rider landed near Tom, who aimed and shot the bolt loaded in his crossbow, but unfortunately missed. Tom put his crossbow down and pulled his axe out of it’s loop. He felt the familiar smooth handle and paused a moment. Then he covered himself in scales and leapt at the enemy. His first stroke hit the griffin in the neck, killing it and his axe stuck. He used his momentum to swing forward and kicked the rider off the griffin. Tom pulled his axe out and jumped after the enemy who was unsheathing a sword.

  He landed on the man’s shield and sent him sprawling in the dirt again. Tom slammed the handle of his axe into the man’s head and saw his eyes glaze over. He ran back over to where he was before, put his axe back in the loop and picked up his crossbow. He started shooting again, after two shots he stopped and put the crossbow on his back. He looked at his hands and knew he wouldn’t be able to help very much, so he stood nearby to help fight enemies who landed near him.

  Soon the Ilemite forces pulled back and the battle was over. Tom started walking back to his tent when a man rushed over to him and looked at his hands. The white clothes told he was a healer. The man shook his head, looked at Tom’s face “I’m afraid I can’t let you fight for a while until your hands heal. If you keep fighting and using your hands too much they will not heal as quickly and perhaps cause permanent damage to your hands. I will check on you every two days, so come to the medical tent in two days.” the healer said and walked away. Tom looked at his hands and frowned, not because he liked fighting but because he wanted to
help his country. He shrugged and went to his tent, took off his armour, washed, put fresh clothes on and walked out with only his axe.

  He figured he would always carry it so he could defend himself. Zack joined him as he walked to get some food. Zack started to ask a question but Tom knew what he would ask “I am not allowed to fight until my burns heal.” Tom explained, and realization dawned on Zack’s face. They continued walking and got some food. The next four days passed extremely slowly for Tom, although the Ilemite army attacked two days after.

  Tom usually passed his time studying tactics, geography among other subjects Alex told him to. He also practiced singing and playing guitar, sometimes along with one of his friends. Tom also went to the medical tent as the healer told him to. On the fifth day after the last battle Tom was in he sat outside his tent drawing battle tactics for Alex, when suddenly the horns sounded and Tom knew they were under attack.

  He instinctively started to get his armour on but stopped and tried to continue drawing the tactics. After a moment he gave up, spread his wings and flew to a nearby hill in the Arstanian camp. He could see most the battle from there and sat watching as the two armies fought. Suddenly a Ilemite riding a dragon landed in front of Tom. The man, obviously high ranking, saw Tom as he pulled out his axe.

  The enemy laughed as his dragon prepared to lunge. Tom made a wall in front of him as the dragon lunged, and he could hear the dragon hit it. He jumped over and made the wall break apart and hit the dragon and rider. He landed behind the enemy and cut at the dragon’s back leg. The blow hit and the dragon turned slowly as the enemy rider prepared to strike at Tom. But Tom didn’t wait for them to strike him, he put his axe in his belt and pulled out a dagger.