Bray smiled confidently at his one remaining opponent and threw a series of savage attacks, at the weaker enemy warrior, which soon took their toll. As exhaustion took hold of the enemy rider, he found it harder to block Bray’s heavy blows. Bray saw the soldier stagger and reversed his swing, before slicing the man across the throat.
The warrior fell to the floor, dead, as Bray swung his horse around to face another attack. In the distance, he could see Primero lashing and biting indiscriminately at a sea of enemy Cavalry.
Primero snapped at the enemy, tearing them from their saddles. He then opened his massive maw and released a roaring ball of flame, which rushed out of his mouth, to consume dozens of the enemy. As he did this, he felt an oppressive pressure begin pressing around his head. He glanced frantically around him and saw a hundred enemy priests marching towards him, chanting something in a strange alien tongue. A dim glow was emanating from around the priests, as they moved closer. He tried to release another bolt of fire at the black robed soldiers, but nothing happened, all he managed was a pathetic cough.
Primero roared defiantly and charged towards the Regiment of priests, crushing dozens of Cavalry, as he moved. He raised his leg to step on the front rank of priests, but felt something wrap around his ankle. The invisible power pulled hard on his leg and tripped him over.
From a distance, Raeywin watched Primero tumble, crushing yet more screaming Cavalry soldiers beneath him. She then gaped in fear, as she saw the mighty black and gold Dragon try to regain his feet, but merely flap his legs uselessly; helpless to get up. As they stared at him, unable to do anything for him, the priests moved towards the huge Dragon and halted when they reached him. Together, they lifted their arms and opened their mouths, before emitting a high-pitched scream, which drove everyone, including the enemy, to the ground. Mounted warriors everywhere fell from their saddles and clutched their heads in agony.
Hearing the terrible sound, Bray released his grip on his Mogya and let it flow through his body. He glanced across at Gwion and saw that his son was doing the same. The two magical warriors then stood up, both feeling as if they were a hundred feet tall. Two large enemy warriors tried to grab Bray’s legs but he punched them both in the head almost absently, as he kept his eyes on the priests.
Bray and Gwion rode towards the robed warriors, who were oblivious to them. The two warriors from Brehatch soon closed with the enemy priests. They drew their swords and slashed their way through the enemy ranks. It took a while, but eventually the priests realised that they were under attack, so those closest to the Dragon kept attacking Primero, but the others threw their combined power against the two warriors, who were now cutting vicious swathes through their ranks.
As he waded through the falling enemy priests, Bray felt a heavy weight start to press down on his head. He glanced left and then right, throwing his sword in the same directions, but could see nothing. He summoned all his will and then shrugged. The oppressive weight seemed to slide off him, as he did this. He glared at a pocket of priests, who were massing to attack him and stabbed another through the chest before holding his forehead. He concentrated hard and thought, ‘burn.’
As the words formed in his head, a light began shinning around him, growing in size and intensity, as it consumed all those around. He glanced across at Gwion, who had summoned a burning bow, much like the one that he himself had used against a flock of Vulgles - flying lizards so large that they could eat a man whole - nearly thirty years ago.
Gwion fired a salvo of fire arrows into the panicking priests, driving them away from him. As their numbers dwindled, the magical force holding Primero to the floor suddenly subsided. The mighty Dragon leapt into the air with a loud clarion call and then swooped at the priests. He saw Bray and Gwion destroying the enemy, so aimed carefully before spitting two fireballs, one from each nostril, at the remaining priests. This new attack broke the enemy’s spirit, sending the survivors fleeing into the relative safety of their massed army, which was still in position in front of Antia.
Rahin ordered an Elven groom to watch the now grazing horses and then rushed to join Bray, who was still moving towards the dark, unforgiving mass of enemy soldiers making up the main body of the enemy’s army. The Elven Commander grabbed Bray by the shoulder and spun him around. Briefly, the power in Bray’s eyes petrified Rahin, as he remembered the last time he had tried to save his Grandson from his Mogya and had nearly died trying.
Bray saw Rahin and released his grip on his Mogya. He risked a quick glance back to where he had last seen Gwion and saw that Raeywin and Galivan were carrying him back to the newly formed Elven lines. Seeing that Gwion was safe, Bray let himself succumb to the inevitable exhaustion that always followed using Mogya. Rahin caught Bray under the arms as he fell and called to Eran, who was collecting fallen arrows close by.
Bray’s uncle rushed across to them and helped Rahin to carry Bray back to a tent that the Elves had erected. Sam saw them carrying the Duke of Brehatch and rushed forward.
As soon as he was with them, he placed his plate-like hands underneath Bray and lifted him easily. Without a word, he nodded to the two Elves and almost sprinted into the tent, with Bray held tenderly in his arms.
Primero watched as the enemy fled back into their own lines. He then hung his head in exhaustion and limped towards the Elves. He saw Sam take Bray from Rahin and Eran, so headed for them. As he drew near, a Sentinel healer strolled towards him. Although dwarfed next to the enormous Dragon, the healer smiled and then placed her hands on Primero’s front leg. She hummed slightly, letting Mogya run through her and then let her thoughts reach into Primero’s body, searching out every wound.
Rahin and Eran stared in wonder, as the Dragon and Sentinel started to glow with a slight green light. Before their eyes, Primero seemed to straighten and increase in strength, his dull, tired eyes twinkling, as life flowed through them once again.
Once the Sentinel was happy that the Dragon was healthy enough, she turned and without a word joined the other healers in the tent, into which Sam had taken Bray.
Rahin moved across to Primero and smiled. He was about to speak when Primero cut him off by saying, “I must go, I did not realise that the enemy were as powerful in the use of Mogya as they are. I must convince my parents to join the fight, regardless of their beliefs. If these devils are allowed to take over Anlam, nobody will be safe.”
Rahin nodded and then patted the Dragon’s chest as he replied, “Of course Primero, thank you for risking your own life to help us.”
Primero did not reply he merely smiled a toothy grin and shot into the air; quickly disappearing into the heavy rolling clouds above. Turning to Eran, who was still staring after the Dragon, Rahin said, “Go and get all of our Commanders and ask if the Sentinels will join us; we have to plan our next attack.”
Eran did not reply, he merely nodded and then raced to do as Rahin had asked.
Sometime later, Raeywin entered the healing tent, as Sam brought in Bray - Gwion was already lying in a cot by the door, with a Sentinel healer next to him, who dwarfed even Tom. Raeywin moved across to help Sam put Bray to bed. Tom smiled comfortingly at her, but she did not return the grin, she merely shook her head and whispered, “I’ll be glad when the day comes that my family don’t have to put themselves through this.”
Sam patted her on the back and replied, “Hopefully that day is closer than we think.”
Raeywin did not reply, she merely smiled slightly and started wiping Bray’s brow with a damp cloth. Seeing that no more conversation would be forthcoming, Sam moved out of the tent.
Dawn had come and with it, thick tendrils of mist. Sam peered through the soup of fog, quickly locating Rahin, who was busy discussing a plan with his Elven commanders.
As he moved closer, he could see that both Tom and Donny, the Captain of the Sentinel honour guard, were also involved in planning the next battle.
Donny noticed Sam coming towards them and threw a salute at his General. Sam nodde
d in response and then asked, “Have we got a plan?”
Tom fingered his brow thoughtfully and then replied, “Of sorts, but we have a problem.” He paused briefly to see if his brother would ask what the problem was, but Sam did not satisfy him with a response, so he continued, “We tried to use the mystical cavern, but we’re blocked from its use.”
Sam was experienced enough to hide his fear, but his mind was racing, as he said, “Fine, so do we have a way around this.”
Eran coughed politely and waited until Rahin nodded for him to speak, then he said, “Well sir, I’m more than aware that the Sentinels can use gateways, even though you don’t like to.”
Sam looked curiously at the lithe Elf and replied, “I know how to form one, but I’ve never done it.”
At this, Eran’s face grew questioning, and he stated, “But, you came to our aid through one in the Aquin slopes nearly thirty years ago.”
The Sentinels glanced at each other, confusion more than evident. Rahin chuckled and clearing up the situation, said, “Eran, Bray sent three of us back to get the Sentinels from the past.” Eran stared blankly at the Elven war leader, so Rahin continued, “The Ancient ones couldn’t contact the Sentinels in our own time and when we realised that we couldn’t use the mystical cavern, we decided to talk to the Tempits to see if they could help. I’m not a hundred percent sure of the conversation, but Bray spoke to one of them and they gave him the power to send us back to get help. So these guys have still not battled the common dragons to save us.”
Eran’s jaw dropped, as he listened, and then chuckled when Sam quipped, “Surely I don’t look this young and sprightly in your time.”
Galivan looked at the grey-haired aging Sentinel and laughed, as he replied, “I think it’s been a while since you were sprightly, my friend.”
The assembled group roared with laughter, as Sam looked at Galivan with cruel intent on his face, lost for anything to say in response. Rahin held his finger to his lips and said, “Quiet now, we don’t want the enemy hearing our plan.”
Sam winked at Galivan and smiled as he said, “Of course.” He then turned to Eran and continued, “I can create a gateway, what’s your plan?”
Eran shook his head, as if clearing it and then said, “What we need is somebody to get into Antia. I’m not sure how many warriors are in the city, but at the last count, it was about ten thousand. If we can get someone in there to lead them out against the enemy and we hit them from this side, we could cause them serious damage.” He glanced around at the burning pyres that were consuming the fallen and continued, “We must’ve killed a few thousand in the first attack, thanks to Primero.”
Galivan nodded and as the others began to consider Eran’s plan, said, “The enemy dead are reported at eleven thousand.”
Rahin grinned grimly at the news but his face grew serious as he glanced towards Antia and saw the crude enemy fortifications that had sprung up around the city. He shook his head and said, “We’re going to need a plan to get past their defences.”
Just then, Raeywin joined them and said, “Bray and Gwion are awake, they are both still weak, but the healers say that they will be back to full strength in less than an hour.” She then pointed at the enemy’s crude battlements and said, “I overheard you talking about how to get through.” She paused until she had all of their attention and continued, “Years ago, Bray came up with the idea of setting fire to the swamp land in front of Velumia.”
Galivan looked towards the enemy and interrupted by saying, “Yes, but this isn’t Velumia. Velumia had underground rivers of oil running underneath it. That is what made Bray’s idea work.”
Raeywin smirked as she replied, “You’re right, but if you look properly, you will see that there is row upon row of gorse in front of their fortifications.” Rahin looked towards the enemy camp, who were obviously getting themselves ready to repel the Elven and Sentinel attack, as Raeywin continued, “If we can get some scouts close enough to pour some fire powder onto those bushes then we can fire a salvo of burning arrows into them; then simply sit back and wait.”
Raeywin beamed as Rahin replied, “Brilliant plan.” Then he looked uncertain as he asked, “But what if they attack us first?”
Eran shook his head, grinned and replied, “Won’t happen. One of my scouts returned a few minutes before this meeting. He reported that the enemy Commanders are in a panic. Apparently, they are unsure of our numbers and don’t want to attack, because it would leave them vulnerable to attack from Antia.”
Sam slapped Tom on the back, laughed in triumph and crowed, “That’s settled then. Eran will get his scouts to douse the gorse with fire powder and we’ll go into Antia and get them to attack.”
With this, the assembled Commanders nodded and moved away to organise their troops. Raeywin watched them go and then went back to the healer’s tent to see how her family were doing. As she walked back, she began to wonder how Gwena was; she felt a little guilty because she had not given much thought to her daughter. She knew that recent events had not given her much chance to think about anything, but still berated herself, because she believed that any good mother should be able to give time for her family, even if it was just a few concerned thoughts. She finished telling herself off, just in time to step through the canvas doors of the healer’s tent.
Bray was sitting up, drinking from a wooden cup, as she entered. Seeing her, Gwion kicked his covers off and clambered out of the bed.
Bray placed his cup on a small table to one side of the bed and stood up. He then moved across to Raeywin and gave her a hug, before kissing her. Gwion made a sickly noise and said, “Go and get a room, that’s disgusting.”
Raeywin laughed and then kissed Bray passionately, driving Gwion from the tent. The loving couple untangled themselves and Raeywin briefed Bray on the plan to attack the enemy. Bray thought about it, trying to see if he could find any flaw in it and, on realising that he could not, smiled, before saying, “Sounds good. Let’s get ready.”
Raeywin and Bray joined Gwion outside the tent, just in time to see Sam lead the Sentinels to a position in the centre of the makeshift camp. Tom moved next to his brother and held up his hand to stop the others. Pulling out a crystal, Sam closed his eyes and let his Mogya flow through him. He then concentrated on the statue of a horse in the garrison drill-square at the rear of Antia.
A moment later, a thin strip of light began pooling in front of the Sentinels. As it began expanding, Tom moved behind his brother to catch him when he collapsed. He passed the reins of both their horses to Donny and waited. The strip of light grew wider, becoming large enough for the Sentinels and their horses to move through. Tom waved for the other Sentinels to follow Donny and then waited so that he could drag Sam after them.
As soon as the Sentinels were gone, Sam released his grip on his Mogya. Sam’s strength fled as it left his body. His knees buckled and his eyes rolled up into his head. If it were not for Tom standing behind him, he would have crashed to the floor. Tom took his brother’s weight and as the gateway shrank, pushed with all his strength, sending the two of them through the diminishing doorway.
Bray watched as the gateway flashed out of sight, nodded and said, “Phase one complete.” He then moved across to the corral to get his horse, with Gwion and Raeywin following.
At that moment, Eran moved from his tent, which was a little distance from the corral and waited by one of the many small fires, which the Elven warriors had lit. He sat down on a log and waited for his scouting group to join him. Minutes later, three lithe Elves appeared, each carrying a small bag of the black powder, known as fire powder. They sat next to Eran and listened intently, as he explained Raeywin’s plan to them. As soon as Eran had finished briefing them, they stood up and slinked into the half-light of dawn; within seconds, they had disappeared, blending into the countryside as if they were part of it.
Trapping the Enemy
Peg placed his telescope back in his belt pouch, as he and Hilum moved from
behind a small knoll to creep back to their troops, who were in the dense forest. A flash of silver armour, in the dark night-time shadows, sent them both scurrying into a nearby natural trench. It was thick with fetid water, but this did not deter the two warriors. They slid into the thick, black water and peered over the lip of the trench.
From his lowered position, Peg watched a small patrol of enemy infantry march past, less than a quarter of mile from them. Trying to ignore the biting cold water, as the warriors traipsed past, he shivered. When he finally thought that they were far enough away, he turned to Hilum, who was also shivering profusely.
Hilum smiled and whispered, “Lovely and warm this water aint it.”
Peg flashed him a smile and clambered out of the trench, without a word. Hilum quickly followed him and was soon pulling himself up onto the dew-stained grass around the trench. Once he was up and standing, the two soaking wet, shivering, soldiers broke into a run. After a while, Peg started to warm up, but he was struggling to keep up with Hilum, who seemed to have endless energy. ‘Just like Omni and Obli,’ he thought.
Pushing on, the two Commanders forged forward; towards the dense trees of the Great Forest, which hid their troops. Within minutes, they were pushing through the thick foliage and into the small clearing where they had left their troops. As they neared the edge of the clearing, two swords seemed to leap out of a bush, pointing directly at their chests. However, the Dwarven sentries, holding the weapons, recognised them immediately and stepped to one side, allowing Peg and Hilum to move past.
Hilum immediately called to a nearby Dwarf, “Get all the Company Commanders to the centre of the clearing.”
Peg did not have to send the same order; Partic and Dineerim had seen him enter the clearing and had already moved towards him with Petifoot in tow. As they moved into the makeshift camp, a number of Dwarves pulled two logs into the centre of the clearing to form benches, on which the commanders proceeded to sit, with Partic and Dineerim laying on the ground next to Peg.
Destruction of a God Page 3