Hanna Halfblood: Spirit Warrior

by Robyn Wideman

  That evening they finished building the trap. When it was done Hanna and Azad crossed the bridge and walked down the meadow. They looked back at the ravine. There were a few places where the sod and dirt didn’t look natural, but would the Skagge men notice such details while they were marching towards the village? Hanna was banking that they wouldn’t.

  “A devious plan. It might just work,” said Azad. “As long as we hold the bridge. If they cross, we are doomed.”

  Hanna shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t say it was a perfect plan.”

  When they went back they found Koyo giving Tayo last minute tips about how to fight as part of the shield wall. Most of the other crew members were listening as well. Occasionally one of the other men would interject a comment but for the most part all were silent and absorbing Koyo’s knowledge.

  “Alright. That is enough for tonight. Everyone get a meal and some sleep,” barked Azad.

  The crew retreated to the trees. The villagers had offered up their homes, but they needed to be outside incase the Skagge men decide to try a night time attack. They didn’t expect one, but Hanna wasn’t willing to take a chance. Thankfully, the villagers had agreed to keep watch all night, taking turns keeping watch so her men could all sleep and be well rested for morning. Osric the Black and Bardolph camped a few miles to the east. In the morning, they would start moving into position in the woods surrounding the village of Cath.

  That night went Hanna went to sleep she found herself in another dream. It was the first one she’d had since Anso had visited her in her sleep after his death. Tonight, both Anso and Thorodd were in the mist filled woods.

  “I see you didn’t forget all of your lessons on warfare,” said Anso. “The ravine is a good plan.”

  “Thank you, Anso. Why are you two here tonight?” asked Hanna.

  “The moons,” replied Anso. “Tonight, the moons are in close proximity. When the moons are aligned our connection to the earth is its strongest. These are the times where it is easiest for us to communicate with you.”

  “Make sure you defeat Tord Skagge tomorrow,” said Thorodd. “The clans seem to have forgotten that attacking the Stonebloods is a bad idea.”

  “Maybe they think a Half-blood isn’t worthy of the Stoneblood name,” said Hanna.

  Thorodd scoffed. “That would be a foolish mistake on their part. You are more than worthy of the name Stoneblood. But let them call you Halfblood. It is time the north realized that a mixed blood can be even more powerful. You have your magic because of the combined bloodlines. Without your father’s magical blood mixing with the Stoneblood magic you wouldn’t have the spirit magic ability. You don’t need my legacy. You will create your own. Tomorrow’s battle is only the beginning of that.”

  Hanna frowned, “You see more battles ahead?”

  “Yes. You are not the only one connecting to the spirits,” said Anso. “The witches have brought Quivna back to the mortal plane. You are going to have to destroy her, but you are going to have to become more powerful before you do. Our spirits alone are not enough to defeat a demon mage like Quivna.”

  “In order to save the world from her darkness, you are going to have to embrace the darkness,” said Thorodd.

  Hanna didn’t like the sound of that, at all. “What do you mean by embrace the darkness?”

  “You are going to have to connect to another soul. One from the same realm as Quivna.”

  “A demon? You want me to connect to a demon.” Hanna couldn’t believe it. How could they ask something like that of her? What would happen to her if she let a demon soul into her body. She’d seen what had happened to the demon warrior. The men were no longer themselves. The demons control their entire being. With Thorodd and Anso it was a shared connection, she allowed them to control her body at times, but she trusted them to return control when she no longer needed them. How could she trust a demon to do the same?”

  Anso’s spirit seemed to understand what she was thinking. “You can stop a demon. You have the power to remove us at any time. There is a difference between a normal human being possessed by a demon and you, a spirit warrior, using a demon’s powers. Your magic, that allows you to call on us as you will, work the same with a demon. You must never allow them full control, but you can harness their power. I’m afraid if you don’t do it the world will become a very dark place.”

  Hanna woke in a cold sweat. The conversation between her and her two spirits had been unnerving. After they departed her dreams, they were replaced by images of demons smiling at her, taunting her. It seemed so wrong to Hanna, to purposely allow something evil into your body. Thorodd and Anso were men she knew, men she trusted, but a demon? No, it was too much. Surely there was another way.

  The rest of the morning, Hanna spent focusing on the coming battle with the Skagge clan. She pushed demons and witches to the back of her mind and focused solely on the fight. She had a good plan, but rarely did a plan survive an encounter with the enemy intact. She would need to be able to adjust on the fly as the Skagges reacted in battle.

  Hanna was going through a progression of light stretches and movements when a scout came running into the village. “They are almost here. They are coming up the meadow, and fast.”

  It was time. Hanna turned to two runners. “Go tell Osric the Black and Bardolph to move their men into position.” She then turned to Azad and the rest of the crew of the Lady. “Whatever happens we hold the bridge.” Hanna didn’t need to give the crew a big speech. This wasn’t new territory for them. The crew of the Lady of the Evening were all battle-hardened warriors, with the exception of Tayo, Koyo’s son, who had been getting extensive training from his father and the rest of the crew ever since he’d joined them.

  Hanna walked out into the meadow, stopping on the bridge. Behind her the crew spread out in a straight line. All of them had shields up and beside them stood the villagers of Cath. Between her men and the villagers they had almost fifty shields lined up behind the hidden ravine. Their line didn’t quite reach to both palisades, but it wouldn’t matter. The real battle would happen at the bridge.

  …

  Across the meadow stood Tord Skagge. He could see the line of shields, far more than the small village itself could have mustered. And at the front of the shields stood a woman dressed in white armor.

  Tord shook his head, what had happened to the Stoneblood clan after Thorodd’s death? A woman leading the trading company was one thing, but to think a woman would lead men into battle and be victorious?

  “What say you Tord? I don’t like the look of this?” said Mornal, one of Tord’s most trusted warriors.

  “What’s not to like? We out number them and they have a woman at the front of their line, we shall destroy them and continue our way on the Ayrith valley. Once we’ve taken that, we move on to Irontide. We’ll be the richest clan in Northern Solotine.”

  “They will have men hiding in the trees, and those aren’t northern men behind those shields. That is the crew of the Lady of the Evening.”

  “Now you are worried about a bunch of Creytan sailors? Mornal, you’ve become an old woman. Enough of this talk.”

  “As you say, Tord. Do we parlay? Offer them a chance to surrender?” asked Mornal.

  Tord Skagge shook his head. “No. The deal we made was to wipe them out, kill the girl and get the gems. Send the men in, full charge.” Tord Skagge saw little point in prisoners, especially ones that might cost him a great deal of money.

  Mornal raised his arm. The warriors assembled behind them started to roar and yell. Mornal pointed forward and the mass of men started to jog towards the line of shields across the meadow.

  …

  The Skagge clan ran across the meadow, charging towards the shield line.

  Hanna stood in the middle of the bridge. Two steps behind her stood Azad and Wynn, a strong sailor and one of the best shield men in the crew. Behind them stood Rowan and Dilare the Red. Rowan with Hanna’s glaive and Dilare with a wicked spear.
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  As the Skagge clan charged, Hanna braced herself, calmly letting her magic flow. She could feel the presence of Thorodd and Anso as she readied herself for battle.

  When the first of the Skagge warriors hit the false ground above the ravine a cracking sound caught Hanna’s ears, but it was quickly drowned out by the roars of the Skagge men. None of the warriors noticed until the branches snapped and the men fell into the ravine.

  “Now!” yelled Hanna. The crew of the Lady, and all the villagers dropped their shields, revealing the bow and quivers of arrows they had hidden. Methodically, the crew targeted the men closest to Hanna and then the men in the raving. Meanwhile, Dilare raised her spear, waving it in the air, signaling Osric the Black, and Bardolph to attack from the flanks with their riders.

  Three and then four rows of Skagge warriors went into the ravine, the momentum of the men behind them forcing them into the ravine before the mass of men behind them slowed enough to keep them from falling over the edge. Those warriors in front of Hanna charged in. The archers picked off the first wave of warriors, but then the first of them reached Hanna.

  Before the man reached her, Hanna stepped back and raised her shield. Now the trio of her, Azad, and Wynn formed a miniature shield wall, three across the bridge. The warrior, and the next one beside him, slammed into their shields. The Skagge men’s momentum completely stopped. Behind Hanna, Rowan and Dilare thrust their weapons forward, Dilare going below Hanna and Wynn’s shield’s while Rowan went over Hanna and Azad’s. Warriors started to pile up on the bridge as they realized it was the only safe way across the ravine. The rest of the crew were shooting anyone who fell into the raving, like fish in a barrel. The Skagge men yelled in panic as they tried to force their way across the bridge as the crew and the villagers targeted anyone without a shield.

  The warriors tried to push Hanna, Azad and Wynn back, but each time they did Rowan and Dilare would strike and another Skagge warrior would fall on the bridge creating even more of a road block for the warriors behind them.

  Then Osric the Black and Bardolph led their men into the battlefield. They rode hard into the Skagge men. The Skagge men, unable to move forward because of the archer guarded ravine, and the blockaded bridge, were stuck.

  As the warriors trying to get onto the bridge turned to the oncoming horsemen Hanna stepped forward. Her axe slammed into the closest warrior, she then shoved another off the bridge with her shield. The warrior fell into the ravine and was soon struck by an archer’s arrow. Hanna made her way forward, Slashing and smashing with shield. Behind her, Azad and Wynn spread out and Rowan and Dilare took Hanna’s spot. The four of them stood fighting together against anyone who got past Hanna.

  The Skagge men were in a state of panic. Those closest to the ravine were trying to get to the bridge. Those closest to the bridge were trying to get away from Hanna. Anyone trying to go back up the meadow were struck down by the riders coming in from the flanks. The battle was turning into a rout.

  As Hanna fought a space opened in front of her. As men moved away in fear one made his way towards her.

  …

  Tord Skagge couldn’t believe it. His men were being decimated. The trap at the ravine had turned a wide-open battle field into a narrow killing ground. The archers across the ravine could take their sweet time while his men needed to get across the bridge to even attack one of the archers. His own archers had been among the first hit.

  As frustrating as the deadly ravine trap was, equally frustrating was the scene at the bridge. The woman in white and her two companions were blocking the bridge while the two behind them stabbed anyone close. As the bodies piled up, Tord had to drudgingly admit that he’d been out maneuvered, and the chances of survival for his men would rely on retreating or crossing the bridge. Tord charged forward towards the bridge when he saw Hanna jump over the bodies of the men on the bridge and slash her way through his men.

  As he reached her, a space opened between them, it seemed as if all the fighting around them was a completely different fight. Tord would kill her and then his men would get over that damn bridge.

  “You should go home,” Hanna. “There is nothing for you here.”

  Tord growled. “I will go home when I have your head on a platter. What name should I call you by when I show it to your men?”

  “Hanna Halfblood, daughter of Merdem Mirzan, granddaughter of Thorodd Stoneblood,” said Hanna.

  “Oh, you are the old goat’s granddaughter? In that case I won’t chop your head off. I will take you home and make you into a pet.”

  “You talk a lot for a man whose army is being destroyed. Maybe you should try fighting,” said Hanna.

  Tord turned red, rage ran through his veins as his heart pumped out anger. This foul-mouthed harlot, in her ridiculous white armor, needed to die. He charged in swinging his war hammer. But as he moved forward, Tord saw something that he couldn’t believe. Hanna stood tall until the last second and then moved with a speed Tord thought not possible. She ducked under his war hammer and slashed out with her own axe. The last thing Tord saw was her axe blade flying towards his neck.

  …

  As Tord’s head rolled across the battlefield a great horn sounded. Tord’s men all turned and rushed up the meadow, retreating from the battle as fast as they could. Yet between the archers and the mounted warriors retreat was no easy task. Osric the Black and Bardolph pulled their men back so the Skagge men were surrounded.

  Hanna raised a fist. The riders pulled back further and the archers paused. A warrior stepped forward.

  “Would you kill us all, or allow us to retreat? We will not surrender,” yelled Mornal.

  “Will you leave Stoneblood lands and never return?” asked Hanna.

  “Yes. Tord Skagge is dead. I, Mornal, now speak for the clan. The Skagges will never attack Stoneblood lands while I live. You have my word.”

  “Send your men back up the meadow. Twenty may stay and tend to your wounded and dead. All must be gone from here by nightfall.”

  Mornal bowed. “A gracious offer. One I humbly accept.”

  Hanna looked Mornal in the eyes, she saw no fear or deception, only relief for his men. She believed she could trust him. “I would ask you to answer a couple questions. Why did you attack?”

  Mornal pointed to the head of Tord. “Tord Skagge, he felt without Thorodd that the Stonebloods would be weak. He didn’t believe that a woman could defeat him. He made a bargain for the gems in Ayrith. But he also wanted Irontide. He was an ambitious leader.”

  “He was a fool,” replied Hanna. “Who told him of the gems in Ayrith? Why were they important to him?”

  Mornal shook his head. “A stranger, one from the coast said he would buy the gems if we killed you and your men. He only spoke to Tord but I recognize the look of him, he wasn’t anyone of importance. A middle man sent to make a deal.”

  The news didn’t surprise Hanna. She’d suspected the attack was related to the spirit stones. “Take your dead, go and never come back.”

  “My thanks, Hanna Halfblood. Your mercy will be remembered, as will your skills in battle,” said Mornal before he started to organize the retreat of the Skagge men.

  Hanna turned to Juron Mears, leader of the village of Cath. “Give them a wagon. The sooner they take their dead away from here the better.”

  Juron nodded and turned to fetch a wagon.

  Hanna turned to Azad. “Any injuries?”

  “A couple of minor wounds among the crew. A few of the Skagge men were good with a spear, but nothing critical. The riders had a few losses but nothing compared to what the Skagges suffered.”

  Hanna sighed. Even in a near perfect battle warriors died. Men wouldn’t be returning to their wives or children, songs of sorrow sung for the lost. Yet the damage could’ve been far greater. The plan had been a success. The men had executed it perfectly and the village of Cath saved. “Have Osric the Black and Bardolph and their men stay and watch the Skagges. Once they are gone, the men may go
back to Irontide. The rest of us will march on to Ayrith. I fear today’s battle won’t be the last we face over the spirit stones.”

  Azad scratched his head. “Why would the witches go to all the trouble of hiring the Skagges? It doesn’t make sense.”

  Hanna agreed. “I don’t think it was the witches. Obviously, someone else wants the spirit stones and isn’t afraid to start a war to get them. Either it is the same person who paid the Foxnoses or there is another party involved.” Two, possibly three different groups trying to get the stones, and from all they knew so far, none of them had good intentions.

  Azad left Hanna to her thoughts as he relayed her orders.

  Hanna wanted to get moving right away, but she also knew that a few injured were being tended to. Also, Koyo was traveling with them. They had a long hard march yesterday and would do more marching today. She wanted to make sure he was up for it. She found Koyo and Tayo gathering their gear, preparing to march to the Ayrith valley.

  “I see you survived,” Hanna said to Tayo. “I thought for sure with Koyo’s training you would be the first to fall.”

  Tayo grinned. “It seems that despite the training of the greatest swordsman Creyta has ever seen I managed to survive.”

  “Ha! You two are hilarious. Real comedians, you should become court jesters for a royal family.”

  Hanna started to dance around goofily, hoping from foot to foot. “Would I need to dance like this and tell horrible stories?”

  “Gods, no,” said Koyo. “You dance around like that in public and they likely to behead you just to make you stop.”

  Hanna chuckled. “So much for my career as a court jester. How are your legs Koyo? You ready for another march?”

  “You just worry about your own sassy behind. I’m not that old! I will still be walking when you young ones are taking a nap,” said Koyo.