Guardians of Magessa (The Birthright Chronicles Book 1)

by Peter Last

  The first day of fighting was over, but Josiah knew that their numbers had been more than cut in half. Another day like this would certainly result in the total annihilation of their army. They had to find some way to turn the fighting in their favor.

  “I need to talk with the other commanders,” Josiah said to himself. He turned to look for someone that he trusted to carry out the task for him and saw Cirro and his captains coming across the battlefield. When they reached him, they offered a salute which he returned.

  “At ease,” he told them. “I need something from you immediately,” he continued. “I want you to gather the other officers of this army that are my rank or higher and ask them to meet me at the rear of the army.”

  “Yes, commander,” they answered, and with another salute they were gone.

  Josiah made his way to the back of the army and sat on the grass to wait. He didn’t know what the meeting would decide, but he did know that if they wanted to survive the next day of fighting, they would have to move to a better location. Perhaps the large group of officers would give General Uriah some ideas to consider. Josiah thought their best chance would be to fall back to the Pelé River. If they made their stand there, they would have the advantage when the dwarves attempted to cross. Of course this plan was not without its difficulties. The dwarves could split their army into several groups and cross the river in multiple places. The army of Magessa would not be able to protect all of these crossing points.

  Josiah tried to fill in all of the holes in his plan, but his ponderings were cut short as the officers began to show up. He rose to his feet and greeted each as they arrived. It was half an hour before most of the officers were present, but Generals Uriah and Looran had still not appeared. Finally, after another ten minutes, the ogre general lumbered up, followed shortly by Josiah’s Captain Stanslaw.

  “Where is General Uriah?” he asked with some urgency in his voice.

  “Deserted, sir,” Stanslaw answered. “I just heard news that he fled back toward Saddun with several of his officers just as the battle was starting.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Josiah said. “You are free to go; however, please send me two soldiers to act as my messengers.”

  “It shall be done, sir,” Stanslaw said. He turned to go, and Josiah faced the officers that had gathered at his wish.

  “This meeting has suddenly become more vital than I had originally thought,” Josiah began. “I had planned on simply advising General Uriah on what to do next; however, the general has turned coward, fleeing to Saddun at the beginning of the battle. Due to this unforeseen difficulty, we need to decide who will lead the army against the dwarves.

  “Before you cast your vote, be sure to consider the qualifications this person must have. First, he must be intelligent in the ways of military strategy. He must be someone that the men will follow even to the death; he must be willing to commit all of these soldiers to the defense of Magessa; and above all, he must have the courage to stand with his soldiers, to stay and fight with them until victory is achieved or he has given his life in defense of our country.

  “Now I would like for you to nominate the officers that are most likely to fill this position, together with all of the requirements that I have just stated. I myself think that General Looran is the most likely candidate for this position, as he is of the highest rank and has all of these qualities. What say you, general? Do you accept the nomination?”

  “Nay, I cannot,” Looran answered, rising to his feet. “I am not the one that is able to fill this station. I do not have as good of a mind for military strategy as many humans do, and I am sure that not all of the soldiers here would follow me to the death. It was not I that stopped the soldiers from retreating and formed them into organized battle lines. No, this position should go to someone who is better suited for it: Commander Josiah. I trust him to pull us through this battle. But even if that is beyond his power, I will follow him to the death. I say this because I know that he is not one to spend the lives of his men lightly, and I feel that he will stand with us to the bitter end, if that be our lot. Therefore, I think that we should give him at least a temporary promotion to the rank of admiral so as to give him the authority to unite these two armies.”

  “I agree,” another of the ogre officers said. “It was Josiah that led our army today, and we survived against insurmountable odds. I move that we give this same power to him in tomorrow’s battle.”

  Sounds of agreement came from all sections of the crowd; it was obvious that this was the choice of the group. The noise gradually resolved itself into a chant, “Josiah! Josiah!” Finally General Looran stood to his feet and raised his hands for silence. The noise finally died down.

  “To make this official, I call for a vote,” he said. “All who are for the leadership of Commander Josiah, please stand to your feet.”

  The crowd rose together, giving a cheer as they did so. The sound was deafening, and Josiah briefly wondered what the dwarves were thinking at that moment. He looked at General Looran who approached him and saluted. The entire assembly snapped to attention.

  “What are our orders, Admiral?” Looran asked.

  “If this is indeed your wish,” Josiah said, “then I will do my best to lead this army to victory. Prepare to move your troops, gentlemen. We’re falling back to the Pelé River tonight.”

  ******

  The road turned sharply to the south, so Timothy left it and cut across a field that stretched for as far as he could see. He looked behind and saw Vladimir staggering up the road. He stopped to wait for his friend, but he didn’t sit down since he knew that he would not be able to force himself to get back up. The surrounding country was lit only by the faint light of a small sliver of moon, so Timothy was unable to rely on landmarks to guide his steps. Instead, he was following a spell that he had used the previous day to locate the academy. They had been running three, maybe four days; the constant running had made events blur together. Every muscle in his body ached, but he was not about to stop. His mission was crucial, and he intended to carry it out to the end. Vladimir finally staggered up to where Timothy stood and doubled over, trying to catch his breath. It was a minute before he was even able to stand up again, but when he did, Timothy was able to look into his eyes. They were normally bright, but now had taken on a dull look. Timothy decided that a real rest couldn’t hurt.

  “No, don’t stop,” Vladimir gasped. “Don’t stop for me. I’ll keep going until I drop. Just go as fast as you can until we reach the academy.”

  “I'm not going to leave you out here in the middle of nowhere," Timothy said suddenly, almost vehemently.

  “Don’t stop for me,” Vladimir said again and gripped Timothy’s shoulder. “You have to promise me that you won’t stop for me. This message that we carry is more important.” When Timothy was silent, Vladimir shouted, “Promise me!”

  “Okay, I promise,” Timothy said. “I won’t wait for you.”

  “Good,” Vladimir said. “I don’t think I can make it any farther, but you can. Run as fast as you can. Get the message to the academy.”

  “I can’t leave you here,” Timothy said, tears building up in his eyes. “You might die if you stay here.”

  “Don't be so melodramatic. You'll come back to get me once you reach the academy. You promised you wouldn't wait; now GO!” Vladimir shouted and collapsed onto the ground in a faint.

  “Very well,” Timothy said as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’ll leave you the food we have left, as little as it is." He was so exhausted that he had to think aloud to maintain his train of thought. "May Elohim protect you.”

  Timothy dropped the bag that he had been carrying beside the unconscious Vladimir. What he did was probably the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. It went against everything he had ever learned—to leave a comrade behind—but he knew that it was for the best. Even so, it took all of his willpower to turn his back on Vladimir and begin to run again. To forget the s
cene that he had just witnessed, he forced himself to run faster. Soon the pain shoved all thoughts from his mind as he flew across the field toward his mission’s goal.

  ******

  Lemin sat on the northern wall of Saddun, looking out over the plain on the other side. The small portion of moon that hung in the sky did little to illuminate the earth, so it seemed probable that Lemin was not looking at anything. Senndra approached and stood behind him, trying to work up the courage to talk to him about an issue that plagued her.

  “Senndra, sit down,” Lemin said without turning. Senndra took a seat beside him on the cold stone of the wall and waited for him to speak again.

  “Something troubles you,” Lemin said, finally looking at Senndra. It was not a question, but a statement.

  “It’s not something, sir,” Senndra responded. “It’s someone. Ever since the battle, Rita has been acting strangely.”

  “Acting strangely? How?” Lemin asked.

  “I’m not sure exactly,” Senndra answered. “If I had to name one thing, I would say that she has become much less trusting and more cynical. I think that perhaps she is beginning to doubt Elohim.”

  “That is definitely possible,” Lemin said. “That happens to many soldiers after their first battle. When they see the carnage and brutality of war, they wonder if there can possibly be a God. They wonder why God would allow this to happen if He did indeed exist. It might help if I talk to her.”

  “Maybe, but I have doubts about that,” Senndra said. “She came to the first of your talks about Elohim, and while many of the people that attended came away changed for the better, she didn't want to talk about it at all.”

  “If that is the case,” Lemin responded, “the best thing you can do is what you have been doing all along. Encourage her and be a friend to her and continue to show the love of Elohim. Other than that, you can do nothing.”

  “But there has to be some way that we can make her come to her senses,” Senndra argued.

  “There is nothing we can do,” Lemin answered. “Each person has a free will, either to choose to follow Elohim and believe His promises or to disregard everything He has said and go his or her own way. If Rita chooses to do the latter and will not be influenced by anything, there is no way that you can force her to accept what you know to be true.”

  “That makes me feel helpless,” Senndra said. “So I can't help her at all?”

  “As I have said, continue to act as you have been,” Lemin answered. “Other than that, you can only ask Elohim to be with Rita in this time. He is the only one that can change her. Of course, be reminded that He is all-powerful, and that no matter what happens, it is for His glory and the good of His people.”

  “Thank you, Lemin,” Senndra said after several minutes of thought. “I needed to hear that.”

  ******

  Josiah watched through the rain as his army forded the Pelé River and set up camp on the east side. They wouldn’t have a good chance of winning even from this side of the water, but they had a better chance. Their archers could pepper the dwarves as they tried to cross the river, and their infantry would have an advantage since the dwarves would be coming out of the water. The problems that Josiah had previously found with the plan had mostly been rectified, making this the best chance for the army. The rain had swelled the size of the river to such an extent that there was only one place that could be crossed for miles in either direction. On the east side of the river there was a rock-strewn field that Josiah had not remembered but that would provide excellent cover for archers. Also, the bank of the river had risen to a point where the dwarves would have to go through a narrow pass between two rocks as they came out of the river. In this position, Josiah figured that his men could take on a much larger army. Even with all of the advantages that the defenders had, the battle was sure to be a bitter one.

  Josiah turned to his two messengers that Stanslaw had provided from his men. Both were fatigued from the march, but they stood straight, ready to take messages to whoever was necessary.

  “Benjamin,” Josiah said to the man on the left, “go tell General Looran to move his archers and his infantry to the pass that the dwarves are going to come through. I will meet him there and tell him exactly where I want his men located.” He turned to the man on the right. “Jonathan, inform the human officers that I want all of their archers positioned in the boulder field in a spot where they have cover, but where the river is still in range. Also, tell the humans to use a third of their infantry to protect the archers and tell them to send the rest of their infantry to the pass by the river.”

  The two messengers ran toward the bulk of the army in search of the officers. Soon, the soldiers were moving to their respective positions, so Josiah walked down to the river to meet the officers. When he got there, General Looran was the first to greet him with a salute. The rest of the officers saluted as well, and Josiah returned them all. Then he began to look over the troops that were available.

  “General,” he said to Looran, “you will position your archers on the tops of the boulders that compose the pass. Make sure they have cover, but I want them to have clear shots at the river and the pass. If there isn’t enough room or cover up there, position your men at the head of the pass so that they have a line of sight down to the water’s edge. Position your infantry at the mouth of the pass. You will help hold it; however, keep your soldiers ready to move. If the dwarves manage to cross at another spot, you will be the one to counterattack.

  “The rest of you will position your men with the ogre infantry. In all scenarios, you will stay at the pass and defend against the dwarves crossing there. Under no circumstances are you to abandon your post. If you do, you will be endangering the rest of the army and the whole country.”

  Josiah turned from the river and headed toward the archers that were positioned to the east. They had entrenched themselves in the field of boulders, and Josiah saw that they had plenty of cover. A detachment of infantry had already arrived, and the soldiers were creating a perimeter around the archers. They had effectively hidden themselves among the boulders, using the natural defenses to their advantage. It would take a force of at least three or four times their size to defeat them.

  As Josiah approached the soldiers, he looked for a way to get to the high ground that they occupied. Two steep and narrow paths had already been blocked up with debris, and the wide path that was the obvious approach was being filled with boulders to make it only wide enough for one or two people to pass through at a time. At the narrow pass, Josiah encountered a sentry who saluted and did not try to stop him. Once he was past, Josiah saw the true extent of the soldiers’ activity. A system for moving the large rocks had been developed, and about half of the soldiers were working to enforce their position with the stone. The other soldiers stood with their weapons, ready to fight in an instant should the dwarves manage a swift advance across the river. Josiah spotted a commander that appeared to be in charge of the working men, so he went to talk to him.

  “Are you the one who is giving orders up here?” he asked the man.

  “No sir,” the commander answered. “I’m just in charge of moving the boulders to block the way. You should speak with the officer over there.” The man pointed to the pass that Josiah had entered through on the way up.”

  Josiah thanked the man for the information and headed back the way he had come. As he neared the pass, he began to scan the crowd for the general. His attention was drawn to several soldiers that were standing atop a portion of the barrier that had been finished. Most of these were regular soldiers that were on lookout duty, but Josiah’s sharp eyes spotted the rank of general on the uniform of one of the older men. He quickly scaled the pile of boulders and approached the general cautiously, due to his uncertain footing.

  “General,” Josiah said so as to get the attention of the older man.

  The general turned to face Josiah and saluted, even if it were a bit grudgingly.

  “What is your
position here?” Josiah asked.

  “We are well-entrenched,” the general answered tersely. “All of the paths to us have been blocked except for the small path over there.” He motioned with his head to the path that had been left through the wall of boulders. “We have all of the human archers in the army, but that is still less than a thousand. There are even fewer swordsmen, but we should not need very many of them to hold this location.”