Reborn: War's Nightmare

by D. W. Jackson

  Ash had thought that the battle would be an easy one given their overwhelming forces but the commanders didn’t seem to think it would be as straight forward.

  “The scouts noticed that the base near the east wall has been dug out using collapsible beams. Since it is the section facing the Lord and his forces, I expect that they plan to wait until the soldiers are completely engaged before causing the near mile long section of wall to collapse. There is no telling what they have planned after that, but there are any number of things they could do that could devastate a large number of our men. It would be best if we simply blocked the east wall and attacked from the north.”

  “The north is dangerous as well. The enemy has put it a large number of crossbows. They have been arranged where it only takes one person to fire more than two dozen. Even if our mages can reduce the number of troops, it would only take a few to kill hundreds of our men. The south side is much better even though it is narrow and bordered by the steep slope on the west.”

  “The enemy had been stacking rocks and other debris along the road to the south gate. It just seems too suspicious to me. They have made great effort to detour our attacks from every other angle but for the south they only seemed to have made a minimal defense. I think that they have something planned, but I just cannot see though it at this time.”

  It was at this time that one of the sub-commanders looked in Ash’s direction noticing him for the first time. “Can you have our dinners brought to the command tent? I do not think that we will be able to join the troops for the evening meal.”

  Ash felt like he should say something, but before he could voice a word, the sub-commander had already turned around and returned his attention back to the discussion at hand. Shaking his head, Ash looked for Herse but found that the sub-commander was currently trying to get near one of the officers who Ash believed was the main army commander. Shrugging his shoulders and seeing no harm in allowing the experienced men to continue he took a step back and exited the tent and went to look for those in charge of the meals.

  The camp was easily five times the size of the one he had been in, but it was set up with the same pattern, so it didn’t take Ash long to find where the cooks were stationed. The cooks were made of over a hundred demons, each looked incredibly busy. After trying to get someone’s attention for a while, one of the older demons stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Ash with a slightly annoyed glint in his eyes. “What do you want?” The old demon asked curtly.

  “The commanders want their meals taken to their tent,” Ash said, his voice strong though it was close to faltering.

  “Like we don’t have enough work to do,” the old demon spit as he turned his head to the side and yelled. “Yarne!”

  A young demon looking no more than thirteen ran forward with a fearful look in his eyes. “Yes master Kell?” Yarne asked with a bowed head.

  “Gather a few of the other boys and have meals taken to the commander’s tent,” Kell said with an air of authority. The boy looked at Ash, his jaw dropping slightly and his eyes wide. Ash tilted his head to the side then remembered seeing the child before when he had been in the capital. He had never talked to the child, but he had been one of the many runners that had worked in the castle. Holding back his smile Ash gave the boy a sly wink.

  “Don’t just stand there like some slack jawed fool unless you want me to strip the hide off your backside. Get a move on,” the old demon roared his eyes nearly spitting fire.

  The young boy’s body began to shake as he regained his bearings. Turning on his heels, Kell ran off as if his feet were afire. Laughing, Ash turned around and headed back to the command tent with a slight smile still on his face.

  When he returned to the tent, Ash found that it was slightly louder than when he left. Stepping inside, he found that the smallest of the demons currently was pulling commander Herse by his ear forcing the much taller demon to bend down. Seeing the scene Ash couldn’t help but be reminded of thinking of a small child being yelled at by his mother.

  “Why in the nine hells didn’t you say something? If the Maoh was here you don’t just politely try to get my attention. What are you going to do if the Maoh got annoyed and went back to his own camp? Do you fools ever think?”

  “My lord,” Herse called out when he noticed Ash had reentered the tent.

  Twisting her hand, making Herse grimace again, the small woman let go of her hold on his ear and turned bowing deeply toward Ash. “Lord Ash, I must apologize. We were unaware that you had graced us with your presence earlier. I had feared that you left in anger. If there is anything I can do to alleviate this disgrace you only have to speak it.”

  Ash floated a warm smile while looking around the room until he noticed the sub-commander who had asked him to have the food sent over. The demon’s face had lost most of its color and looked almost as white as a sheet. Giving the demon commander a light smile before turning his attention back to the woman who was still bowing. “You can rise,” Ash said, his voice filled with warmth. “I just thought that you might wish to have your dinner within the tent since it did not seem like you would be able to finish your discussion before the sun fell.”

  “That is most gracious of you my lord,” the woman said, giving Ash a motherly smile. Looking at her, Ash would think that she was only in her mid-twenties, but Ash had long learned that it was almost impossible to judge the age of a demon merely from a look. There were demons that aged like humans, but for them it took a hundred years for them to age a year. At the same time there were demons that never age once they reached a certain maturity. Ash didn’t know if he would consider such a thing a curse or a blessing. Eternal youth sounded nice, but some of those demons never seemed to get past the age of what most would consider adolescence. Ash wouldn’t mind to be stuck in the body of a twenty year old, but being stuck in the body of a teenager didn’t sound that pleasant.

  “I always believed that no matter what status one holds that they should limit themselves to doing only what they can while trying to learn what they do not,” Ash said lightly. “It was easy for me to see that all of you are much more knowledgeable about war then I am so there was no sense in me interrupting and made much more sense to do what little I could to help.”

  The seemingly young female demon commander let out a loud laugh but it quickly came to a halt and her face took on an ice cold look that seemed like it could pierce though a person’s soul. “Did you hear that? The Maoh even with his status, who could stand above all of us, has instead lowered himself to a position of a servant. If any of you had half the brains and forethought of the young Lord then this old lady could die in peace. Instead most of you take your position for granted. Maybe I should follow the Lord’s example and make all of you work as servants for a few hundred years to train you in humility a bit more?”

  “General Fay, I think you are being a bit harsh. We are not nearly as bad as that,” one of the sub-commanders said, his shoulders dropping slightly.

  “Is that so Little Wren,” the general said with a heavy glare. “Was it not you just two days ago who had a fit because one of the soldiers brought his tent too close to your own so you couldn’t put up your prided canopy and hammock?”

  Seeing the much smaller demon lecturing the others who were all much larger, Ash couldn’t help but break into a fit of laughter. Holding his stomach, Ash looked up to find everyone looking at him. Even general Fay looked slightly stunned at Ash’s outbreak of laughter. “Sorry…Sorry you just reminded me of a woman scolding her wayward children. It just seemed so out of place I couldn’t help but laugh,” Ash said trying to explain himself.

  Fay let out a short barking laugh that didn’t seem to fit her small frame. “You wouldn’t be too far off. Almost all of the sub-commanders are my students and many of them have been groomed by me since they were still in swaddling. I can’t help but treat the little brats like my own children. Now that we got this little fit over with, why don’t we get back to the
problem at hand? Otherwise we will be stuck here until the enemy gets reinforcements.”

  “Reinforcements?” Ash asked puzzled. “I thought that this was the main force. There shouldn’t be much more that the King can bring to field.”

  “Foolish child,” Fay said shaking her head. “I guess that I can’t blame you. Instead I need to remember to slap that old sage a few times next time I see him. He should have sent you to me ages ago so that I could at least teach you the basics. As you are now, I don’t think you could fight your way out of a wet blanket.” Ash was dumbfounded at her words. Growing up Ash was used to being insulted but never in such a warm manner. Fay’s words might have been harsh, but the look on her face radiated warmth making Ash feel slightly odd when he looked at her. “Boy for now on you will be sticking with me so that I can teach you enough so that you don’t bring the entire demon kingdom down around your ears.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Ash said feeling like a small child under the small demon’s gaze.

  “Good,” Fay said nodding. “Looks like you have a good head on your shoulders. I just hope you can keep it there long enough for the next Maoh to be born and brought up, otherwise we might not be so lucky next time around. For now take a seat and listen. If you get bored just let grandma Fay know and she will slap you a few times to wake you up,” the general said with a smirk before turning her attention back to the other commanders and the maps laid upon the table.

  Ash did as he had been told and took a seat on an uncomfortable chair made of soft wood and reeds. He listened as the commander’s once again talked about the best way to attack the city fort. Ash listened attentively though he could only understand the basics of what was being said. The discussion continued on and the sun was quickly replaced by darkness as it dropped below the horizon.

  Shortly after the sun disappeared from the sky, a loud noise came from outside the camp quickly followed by a number of screams. Raising her head from the map, General Fay’s face twisted as she spat. “It’s a night raid…Fools I told you that we should set up a good guard just for this reason. Hopefully you listened to my suggestions, otherwise this is going to be a long night.” Ash noticed that none of the sub-commanders spoke and instead looked down like children who had gotten caught stealing candy.

  “We didn’t think they would dare to attack out camp given our numbers,” one of the commanders said with a down heartened look on his face.

  “We just finish a long forced march. Our troops are tired while theirs have been resting peacefully. Now is the best time for them to risk a night raid otherwise they will have to face us full on at a time of our choosing.” Fay glared at them and stomped her small foot. “Don’t just stand there moaning about your own stupidity, get out there and take command of your troops.”

  “Yes sir,” the commanders said with a stiff salute before running out of the tent.

  “Follow me my lord,” Fay said turning to Ash and waving her hand. “You should see what happens when you underestimate your enemy.”

  12-7

  Ash followed closely behind Fay as they left the confines of the tent. The sky was dark and lined with clouds only allowing the moon brief moments to shine through. Each time the area brightened Ash noticed the faces of the demons rushing around him. Some of them looked calm and moved through the crowd as if they were just passing through a crowded street, while others were obviously panicked and seemed to trip over their own feet.

  It wasn’t long before the screams of the dying grew louder. Ash knew that they were drawing close to the border of the camp. When he rode in at dawn, there was only a small ditch dug along with a few barriers to impede the enemies’ advance should they attack. Ash hadn’t given it much thought at the time because it hadn’t been long since the main army had arrived. However, even now it didn’t look like much work had been done while he had been in the command tent.

  When he first arrived, Ash’s men had spent days doing nothing but fortifying their position. They had limited troops and even he knew that a night attack could greatly diminish their fighting force, but it seemed that the commanders of the main army had grown lax with the overwhelming numerical advantage.

  “Tsk,” Fay clicked her tongue. “This is what happens when you field and army with no real experience.”

  “I thought that the demon army trained non-stop?” Ash asked slightly confused. He was sure that the sage had said that even in their current peaceful times, the demon army had never let their blades grow dull. He couldn’t understand the meaning behind the general’s words.

  “Of course they fight, but not against humans and rarely against other demons unless it is a mock battle. Those don’t have any real sense of danger so the pressure on the commanders and troops are light. The worst part is that demons enjoy the fight so something like a night raid would be rare even during mock battles because it wouldn’t allow them to fully enjoy the battle. It is because of this that these boys have grown too lax and have forgotten to think like their enemies.”

  Before Ash could think of a reply, a tall man rushed toward him with his sword ready to strike. Taken by surprise, Ash took a hasty step back while trying to release his sword from its scabbard. With such an unexpected attack within his own lines, Ash had been unprepared and couldn’t even think of what skills or abilities might be of use and suddenly only hoped that the strike didn’t hit any of his vitals. Just as the sword was about to hit his chest, a dagger flashed like a silver beam of light, knocking the enemies blade away. Less than a second later another flash of silver was quickly followed by a stream of red flowing from the soldier’s neck as he fell to his knees. He grasping his wound desperately trying to keep the blood from freely pouring onto the hard ground.

  “Keep your eyes open,” Fay said in the same scolding tone that she had used on the commander’s earlier, making Ash lower his head like a scolded child. “We might still be well behind our lines, but there is no telling when a lucky enemy might break through. That is especially true for you. You are not only our leader but also our Maoh. If you were to die, it would throw everyone into trouble due to the spirit link. There is a very real chance that the enemy might employ assassins. If you want to be foolish and die, do it somewhere away from me. This old lady can’t have you dying under my eyes.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Ash said apolitically. Pulling his sword from its scabbard so it was at the ready, Ash tried to use his sense ability, but there were so many people around that it started to make his head hurt, forcing him to deactivate it. Sighing to himself, Ash wished he had brought a few of his wives with him, but they all seemed busy and he was just going from one camp to the other and he thought it was a better use of their talent to have them keep an eye on the so called allies. No matter how well-mannered they seemed, Ash just couldn’t bring himself to fully trust an army that belonged to an unfamiliar party. There was always the chance they could turn on them at the most crucial moment. Ash made a silent vow to never leave the girls behind again. It wasn’t that they really made him stronger, but Ash had to admit that their presence made him feel more secure.

  Within moments Ash got his first real view of the harsh battle at the front lines. The number of attackers were not large, but from what he could see, they were strong far stronger than Ash would have thought. Not only were they strong, even with their small number, but the demons had been taken by surprise and Ash could already see that the ground was covered in the blood of the unlucky few who had been the first casualties from the unexpected night attack.

  Ash’s blood began to boil with each passing second but before he took a step, he noticed that Fay was calmly standing beside him watching it all with a passive attitude. As if hearing Ash’s unasked question, Fay looked at Ash and gave a warm smile. “We are the leaders of the army. If we casually join in the battle without understanding the full implications of the battle, then we will do more harm than good.”

  As Fay was explaining, one of the enemy soldiers broke through the lines and r
an straight toward them. Ash held his sword tightly and just before he made his move, Fay lazily flicked her wrist and a long needle suddenly appeared between the man’s eyes a second before he crashed into the ground like a puppet that had its strings cut. “The current battle is not that important. If we join it and get put into a bad position, there are no gains…Only losses. Right now, while we may lose a few troops, there is no way that the enemy can breach far enough into our lines to do any real damage. I would expect that their main goal was our leaders. However, no matter how hard they try, it is nearly impossible to sneak into a demon army camp due to some of the unique abilities that our soldiers’ control. While I know that you are skilled in battle, your true worth is behind the lines at this time.”

  “I thought the demon Maoh was supposed to fight on the front line,” Ash said, his mouth still hanging open as he tried to come to grips with everything that was currently happening.

  “Yes, the Maoh is meant to fight at the forefront of the battle. A Maoh is a leader before anything else, but there is no meaning to the Maoh fighting on the front lines in every battle. It only works in battles where the soldiers can gain strength from your presence and right now that wouldn’t happen. In fact, it would be the opposite. It would dishearten the soldiers because they would view it as their mistake that put you in danger. So the best thing that you can do at the moment is watch them and aid them where you can while keeping yourself safe.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Ash said nodding his head like a schoolboy.

  Keeping his sword in hand, Ash watched the battle. Thanks to his dragon eyes, Ash could easily see what was going on despite the dark night. Each time that one of the demons took a strike, Ash found himself gritting his teeth and his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. With each death he felt as if his chest was slowly being ripped open. As the second turned into minutes, the sounds died down, but it did not alleviate the pain. Even though there were less enemies and more defenders with each passing moment, it was hell for Ash to just watch like a bystander. When the signal for retreat sounded and the humans fled back toward the city fort in the distance, Ash felt as if all his strength had been drained from his body.