Guards Vestige

by Alexander Adams

  He exited the door at the top of the tower and made his way to the captains and commander, who argued amongst themselves. Obadiah and Austin were off to the side, along with all fifteen trainees who had been inside the keep when the attack started. Aaron stood next to Griffon and Zachery and leaned toward Griffon.

  “What’s happened so far?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “Nothing yet. They’re just arguing.”

  Captain North pointed toward the north side of the city. “We have to get those people into the keep,” he said.

  Hawk scoffed. “If one of those flash powder charges landed inside our wall,” he said, “you’d kill the lot of them.”

  Coe shook her head and nodded toward the south. “None will ever make it this far,” she said. “They’re barely clearing the wall as it is.”

  North glared at Hawk. “They’re going to try to break in,” he said. “Those explosions are driving everyone out of the south side as they try to get as far away from the danger as they can. That means they’ll try to get to the gates, which also means they’re going to bottleneck there. With the number of ships reported in the water and those already beached we’re outnumbered to such extremes I almost want to laugh at the absurdity of it. Those civilians are being herded like cattle for slaughter and we do not have the numbers to protect them at the gates.”

  Commander Hall looked at Hawk sympathetically. “He’s right, Hawk,” Hall said. “They’re herding them. We can’t let them clog the gates or wander the city blindly when the true battle breaks out.” The commander scratched his chin. “Captain Coe, take a third of whatever wardens we have available and head to the east gate. Send another third to the north and west as well. Try to send the civilians here. We’ll start funneling them into the tunnels below the city. You have full command over the eastern defenses, get them setup for when they breach the outer wall, hopefully we can delay them long enough to finish bringing the civilians to the keep.”

  She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes, commander.” Coe motioned to the wardens with them on the wall and rushed past Aaron and the others.

  Obadiah stepped up and saluted. “Commander,” he said, “where shall we place our trainees?”

  The commander looked at them all crowded behind Obadiah. They all had terrified and nervous expressions on their faces and they knew it.

  “Are you sure they’re ready for this?”

  Obadiah nodded so slightly that Aaron almost missed it. “They have to be,” he said.

  Hall looked sidelong at Austin and said, “Can they manage?”

  Austin considered his answer briefly. “Does it matter? They will or they won’t.”

  Hall nodded. “Split the wardens and rangers between the east and north gates,” he said. “The west will most likely be the entry point, so keep them away from there. They can at least help keep the ballistae loaded for stragglers and splinter groups. The scholars can help tend the wounded here in the keep.” Hall turned to the other captains. “Hawk, you take command of the west gate. North, you get your namesake.”

  The captains both nodded and started toward the tower while Obadiah quickly split Aaron and the others up into their groups. Aaron was chosen to go with North, while Zachery and Griffon were with Hawk. They made their way back down the tower and across the courtyard to the gate. Nearly every Dragon Guard not already out in the city was making his or her way through. Aaron had never seen so many fully armored and armed Dragon Guards in one place. In the dining hall, they had been in only their black. It was truly something to behold. The glowing glint of etched steel gave him hope for the fight that was to come in spite of the overwhelming numbers against them.

  They were about to part ways when Griffon gripped Aaron by the arm. “Be careful,” she whispered.

  He grabbed her wrist and squeezed it reassuringly.

  Zachery smiled weakly at Aaron. “Try not to die.”

  Aaron patted him on the shoulder before he turned and followed the group heading north. As they were leaving, he glanced behind him. The keep was outlined by the glow of the fire in the city beyond it. He would have thought it was beautiful if it hadn’t meant so many were dead because of it. Before he knew it, Jane fell in beside him as they ran. People were still pouring down the streets like a river as they tried to escape the sea of fire behind them. Even for the large group of Dragon Guards, it was slow going as they ran past and around bodies while trying to avoid trampling civilians and helping those that had fallen to the ground.

  “I can’t believe this is really happening,” Jane said.

  Aaron didn’t know the girl well. She tended to keep to herself for the most part. But at the moment, it didn’t matter. They were both dumbstruck by the horror and equally confused about the reasons behind it.

  He shook his head as he thought out loud: “Why would Krida attack us? It doesn’t make any sense. Besides, I thought they fought each other too much to organize like this.”

  “It could be land, religious reasons, or just for the thrill of it,” Jane said. “Could be anything. Does it really matter why?”

  Aaron gritted his teeth. “I guess not.”

  As they ran down the street, Aaron saw the mass of people growing thicker at the front of the gate. They were shoving each other and fighting to get as close to the gatehouse as possible, while all around them city guards tried to calm the panicked citizens and direct them to the keep.

  North stopped just outside the mass and looked across. “We’re going to have to force our way through the crowd if we want on the wall,” he said.

  He ordered them to wait and went up and down the back of the mob and gathered every city watchman he could find. He returned with eight, all of whom carried a shield. North organized his team as best he could with people still pushing past and the frantic crowd growing larger. He placed nine of them in an arrowhead formation, their shields raised in front of them like a wall. The rest would walk behind them to help push through.

  North addressed them over the roar of the crowd: “Keep your shields up. We aren’t trying to hurt anyone, but they’re afraid. They won’t be thinking straight or listening to reason. Just keep moving toward the gatehouse and they’ll move aside if we push hard enough.”

  They started forward. Aaron was next to the point guard. North was behind him with a steady hand on both their backs. The moment Aaron came to the first person in the crowd he felt the resistance. Out of fear of hurting the man, he didn’t put all his weight or strength into the shield. He regretted it immediately as he started to fall back while the rest of the formation continued on.

  North pushed harder against Aaron’s back, using his own strength to keep Aaron upright and steady. When Aaron had his footing again he resolved to keep his weight pressed forward. North was right. They weren’t going to move unless they made them. Aaron understood how they felt. He was just as afraid as they were. The difference was that he was a Dragon Guard and he had to do everything he could to keep them safe.

  They managed to push through the crowd to the gatehouse in only a few minutes. North had them line their shields up as a wall between the door and the crowd so that when it was opened, the people wouldn’t try to force their way inside in another attempt to get to safety. Thankfully, when the guards unlocked and opened the door, they were able to get inside and lock it again without incident.

  North addressed the city guards that had opened the door: “Gather everyone you can and get them on top of the inner wall. I’ll have my wardens start getting people away from the inner gate.”

  The closest guard seemed confused. “Inner, sir?” he said. “Are we not manning the outer wall?”

  North shook his head. “We don’t have the time or the manpower at the ready. We’re too scattered to form a cohesive defense of such a vast area. We need to focus our forces on the inner wall to make sure we aren’t spread too thin.�
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  The guard nodded and went up a set of stairs leading to the top of the wall.

  North turned to the trainees. “When we are on those walls,” he said, “you do exactly as you’re told. No exceptions! Do you understand?”

  They nodded. North led them up the stairs, where they were immediately directed to carry crates of bolts to the nearby ballista lining the walls, as well as to load their first shots. Aaron took a moment to glance at the ballista and its stand as he helped crank the thick tension wire back on one of the devices. It was a circular wooden pad built into the wall itself, mounted with two wooden sets of triangle supports that allowed it to angle up and down while the pad let it pivot from side to side. The combined effort of the city watch and the Dragon Guards made quick work and after nearly an hour the northern section of wall was loaded and ready for battle.

  With the job finished, North called out to the trainees and the city watch: “All right, head down to the masses below and start escorting them to the keep!”

  Aaron was more than happy to follow the order, though Jane seemed to disagree. “What?” she said. “Why?”

  “Because the Kridens have amassed outside the gates,” North said, “and I’d rather not have a bunch of fresh-out-of-the-keep novices here to break the flow and organization of battle at a crucial moment.”

  “That’s not fair!” Jane said. “Give us a bow or put us in the murder holes above the gate. Something. This is our city too. Let us help!”

  “I gave you an order,” North said. “Now go!”

  Jane was about to protest again, but was cut off by a noise that drowned out the sounds of the screaming and panicked people below them. It was a chant, the chorus of a thousand voices speaking as one from across the killing field and over the wall. Slowly, the panicked people at the gate took notice of it. They quieted to listen as a new, eerie peace settled over the city. Everyone focused on the thousands of Kridens chanting in unison.

  “Geieg, Geiod, Geiacht!”

  They repeated the words over and over again. Each time they started again, it sent new chills down Aaron’s spine. He didn’t know Kridic. No one in Edaren did as far as he was aware, but he knew it meant something terrible. He and Jane were frozen in place, simply listening and looking at the wall across the killing field, dreading what the words could mean and hoping whatever it was would never breach the walls protecting them. Then a fresh horror washed over every man and woman on the walls of Vigil.

  In the distance over Highwood Forest, a dragon rose out of the trees. It was still a fair distance off, but that only made its size more apparent. The dragon was at least twice the size of Argera. Its scales were dark, void of blue, its secondary color blacker than the night sky. The Kridens continued to chant as the dragon came ever closer with amazing speed. Soon it was upon them. It spread out its wings to slow and stop as it landed on the gatehouse of the outer wall with enough force that the wall Aaron stood upon shook and shuddered.

  The dragon paused in place and simply listened to the chant of the army behind it before letting out a long, thunderous roar. Aaron feared the sound would deafen him as he lifted his hands to cover his ears. When it finished, Aaron’s ears were ringing. By the time he lifted his eyes, two new horrors were rising from the forest. One was a sickly, copper dragon with an orange secondary color. Alongside it was a ruby red beast, its secondary color grey, like forged iron. Both seemed about the same size as Argera. They quickly closed the gap between the forest and wall before splitting off from one another, landing next to the gatehouses of the east and west sides respectively.

  The cries of the Kridens changed. Those outside the north gate chanted Geiacht, while the east proclaimed Geieg, and the west praised Geiod. Aaron realized the Kridens had been chanting the names of the dragons.

  Geiacht stepped down from the gatehouse and stood just inside the outer wall in the killing field before turning to the gate. It lifted its forelegs and dug its claws into the iron-banded wood of the gate.

  Aaron couldn’t look away from the beast before him. He imagined the other two were performing similar actions as the three of them roared as one. Then, with incredible strength that seemed effortless, Geiacht tore the gate apart and threw the remains into the killing field. They crashed and rolled over the ground before coming to a stop at the base of the inner wall. The moment the way was open, the dragon stepped off the path. Kridens started pouring through the gate, never once straying from the stone road. In a perfect line headed for the second gate.

  North broke from his stupor and shouted orders: “Pivot sixty and rotate accordingly! Aim for the dragon! Don’t let it take to the sky! Keep it grounded!”

  The guards started to pivot the ballista to aim toward Geiacht. All Aaron could do was watch in horror as the dragon leapt into the air, making the effort moot long before they’d moved the devices even half as far as they needed to. With speed that seemed unnatural for its size, Geiacht landed on the gatehouse of the inner wall, making the structure crack under its weight and causing everyone on the wall to fall to their knees. The people crowded around the gate screamed and started to run in all directions at the sight of the mythical creature long thought gone.

  The people trampled each other as they tried to move in every direction, stopping anyone from going anywhere. Aaron watched as the underside of the dragon’s neck and jaw started to glow. Slowly, it brightened from a dull red to a blinding white as the fire and heat built up inside. Aaron glanced around the city. Even from that distance, he could see the other two dragons were mimicking the larger dragon. With another unified roar, they bathed the defenseless people below them in flames.

  The fire burned so bright and hot that Aaron had to turn his back to the flames in an attempt to stop the burning sensation that was spreading across his skin. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the fire vanished. The scalding heat remained thick and heavy in the air, making it a struggle to breathe. Aaron knew his clothes were already soaked with sweat. Even the fire-resistant metal of the etched, steel shield he carried was warm to the touch. He turned around to see the dragon step off the wall into the city. Aaron slowly rose and glanced around to see Jane and North near him, as well as a few of the city guards, alive and well. Unlike this small group, though, most of the Dragon Guards had stood on the wall and been too close to the dragon. They now lay atop the wall, writhing in agony. Their proximity to the heat alone had burned them horribly.

  Jane and Aaron looked at each other, then ran to the edge of the wall. The courtyard below was empty and charred black. Not even a corpse remained in the aftermath. The dragon turned toward the gatehouse and, just as at the outer wall, it gripped the wood of the gate with its claws and tore it free, making the gatehouse around it shatter and fall into a pile of rubble, taking burned guards with it as it fell.

  Geiacht stood on its hind legs and tossed what remained of the gates into the city, crushing buildings beneath their weight. Then, its job apparently done, the dragon spread its wings and leaped into the air, leaving the chaos it had created behind as it slowly spiraled into the layer of smoke above the city. Aaron and Jane simply stared into the black stones below them, unsure how to react. Aaron was furious that the creature had done such a thing but terrified it had the power to do so. He wanted nothing more than to run to the keep and hide away. Yet he also wanted revenge for every person that had been caught in the inferno. The conflicting emotions threatened to cripple him until he heard a strong voice break though the sound of his own heartbeat and his racing and scattered thoughts.

  “Everyone down into the rubble! Form a line and protect the survivors!” North was shouting and breaking everyone out of their terrified stupors.

  Aaron looked past the black stones to the buildings and streets around them. There were indeed still survivors, though most of them seemed to be just at petrified as he had been moments earlier. They were unable to move as the horde of Kridens m
arched down the path of the killing field, adding to their fear. Aaron turned to Jane and saw that she was already moving. He balled his hands into fists. Instead of thinking about what had just happened, he focused on what he needed to do and drew his sword.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  30th of Sanya, 28th year of the Fourth Age.

  Daniel, Clara, and Alan were moving far too slowly through the alleyways. They were still on their way to the keep but had made barely any progress. They’d had to backtrack several times to avoid running into Disciples and valgrets. The city was crawling with them now. They were using the tunnels to get inside without any resistance and emerging from every opening. Daniel assumed that meant whatever patrols had been down there when the attacks started were dead. Now, with the appearance of three dragons over the city gates, Daniel wasn’t sure what they were going to do.

  When the dragons were spotted, the citizens had started retreating from the gates. This managed only to clog the streets more than before. Now that the gates weren’t a sign of safety, people ran in every direction, almost guaranteeing that staying on the street would mean death by trampling. Several people had thought as Daniel and taken to the alleyways, but they were quickly cut down by valgrets or cultists. Without their weapons, Daniel, Clara, and Alan couldn’t protect them.

  Every corner had the risk of leading the trio to something they didn’t have the means to deal with. They had been going for nearly an hour when they reached another dead end and took the chance to catch their breath.

  Clara slumped against a wall and placed her head in her hands. “What are we supposed to do?” she said.