As he passed through the broken gates the cleric could see his first site of hand-to-hand battle nearby. The area just beyond the gate, which did not have buildings and was an open space, quickly filled with combat. Men, orcs and some scattered goblins were screaming in rage, pain, and death. Elberon was still several ranks back from the action. The anxiety he felt fueled his energy. The mass of men around him had stopped moving as the wall of opposition hit the first line of attackers hard in defense. Elberon couldn’t see much but braced himself as the sound of steel clashing and screaming intensified.
Then suddenly they were moving forward again. The enemy’s ranks must have shifted. Elberon was advancing, passing men on his left and right, which made him cautious. He scanned the area around him and gripped his mace tighter. An orc appeared right in front of him having been pushed through a group of men untouched. The creature was as confused and startled as Elberon was. They both squared off and the orc charged with his sword held in both hands, pointed at the robed priest. The beast let out a growl and Elberon barely dodged his thrust. The orc tried to stop and turn quickly without passing too far past his adversary, but as he planted his foot to stop, Elberon came down hard with his mace. The orc lifted his sword feebly to parry, but the weight of Elberon’s swing along with the heavy diamond shaped head of the weapon came crashing down. The sword and the mace hit the orc in the face, which split open in a bloody mess. As the orc fell to the ground another man shoved a sword into its stomach.
Elberon continued to look around. It was complete chaos; he was in the epicenter of the largest battle that had ever been fought in this part of Herridon. There was no eye to this storm. Humans and creatures were engaged in battle everywhere. The priest spotted the exposed back of an orc near him. The creature was being driven back by a frenzied human warrior, but was blocking well. Blocking until Elberon’s mace caved in the back of his skull, which burst open like a melon. The enraged man that had been battling the orc did not even appear to notice; he just quickly moved on to another target.
At this point Elberon backed towards some other men. He called to Phelios and within seconds a faint yellow hue encompassed his body. He was now protected by a ward, which served the same as fine armor. As he completed the spell he saw an orc charge at him with an ax in one hand and a sword in the other. As the creature approached, a wounded man fell to the ground directly in his path. The orc tripped over the fallen man and landed right at Elberon’s feet. The hopeless Faletonian was sprawled out on the ground and his tusked mouth opened as if to scream, but was silenced as Elberon’s mace smashed down on his chest, concaving his rib cage and ending his life.
Elberon scrambled over to the man who had fallen and inadvertently tripped the orc. His left shoulder was badly wounded. The priest held out his hand and recited a prayer. A bluish mist swirled from his hand and then moved over the man’s wound. The bleeding stopped and the surprised man was able to use his arm again. He got back to his feet and gave Elberon a nod, then rejoined the battle.
The cleric could see that some men were covered in a similar faint hue to his right, but the color was reddish. He scanned the area and could see the priests of Aya together in the battle. He recognized the hue as an enchantment that increased both the strength and speed of those men, and it was obvious. They disposed of their foes quickly and moved on. The advantages of divine magic were substantial. Orcs could cast spells granted to them by their god, Zatelboz, by way of their shamans. Shamans were dark and mysterious, and not often seen. Fortunately for the men of the cities of the South Sea, there were none visible at the moment in battle. They could enter the fray at any moment though and their impact could be devastating.
Then, from the group of priests of Aya, Katriel emerged and entered the melee with a nearby goblin. She showed great skill with her sword and, within seconds, the creature was impaled on her short thin blade. This was no time for Elberon to admire her skill though. A goblin had approached his flank and the distracted priest could not move away from his attack in time. The short green creature swung a crude axe, and the blow connected to the priests shoulder as he tried to dodge the attack. He cringed on impact. The weight of the strike was felt immediately, but the ward was stronger than the blade. A small burst of yellow sparked from the area of impact, but the axe did not penetrate. Elberon swung horizontally expecting to bludgeon the creature aside, but the goblin was so short that the mace clobbered its unprotected head, killing it upon impact. The ward decreased in strength due to its use in protecting against the blow. Elberon could feel its weakness and the yellow hue around him was hardly visible.
He had never seen anything like what surrounded him. The sound of death and injury, of rage and struggle filled the afternoon air. From what he could tell, it seemed that the human army was winning the battle. A group of men charged past him as he stood defensively. The priest decided to follow them into the next melee. It was while following them that he noticed a treacherous site in the distance. He stopped in his charge and stood wide-eyed, forgetting what was happening around him. A couple of other men did the same beside him.
Beyond the ranks of the enemy Elberon saw large ogres charging forth, expressions of fury on their ugly faces. Sharp teeth lined their hungry maws. Their massive frames dwarfed the orcs around them. Then, as if the dangerous ogres weren’t enough, several giants emerged from behind buildings, their long legs propelling them towards the battle. The two story tall behemoths began to take their positions in battle. Their angry roars filled the air like a song of impending death. The human cleric pulled himself together and was ready to go support the soldiers just in front of him, but his eyes returned right back to the distance, where a massive giant with powder blue skin and hair as white as a snow topped mountain peak was making his way towards his position from the back of the enemy force.
***
The human forces to the east and west of the main gate were doing well. They were taking the ramparts and working their way down to the grounds inside the walls. Their good fortune, however, ended quickly with the arrival of ogres. Most of the soldiers had never seen an ogre before, nonetheless a group of bloodthirsty battle raged ogres, snarling and growling, ready to cut them in half or bash them flat. The morale of the soldiers instantly dropped. Fear overtook many of the men and they lost momentum in the battle.
The defenders rallied around the human weakness. Some men made it down the stairs that lead to the ground level and were immediately massacred by the awaiting ogres. The attackers began to stop their advance and descent. Some of the seasoned soldiers screamed boldly to rally their comrades, but it did little. Another group of human soldiers emerged from the passage that encased the stairs that went from the top of the walls to the ground level. They shared the same unfortunate bloody fate as those that preceded them. The ogres’ axes or clubs left a disturbing bloody scene for all to see. Human body parts were scattered about. The hulking pale green beasts alone seemed to be enough to spell defeat for the men from the cities of the South Sea. When considering the giants that were moving closer to the battle it was clear that the conflict might soon be over.
Then, amongst the chaos and confusion, something incredible happened. Atop the wall near the tower to the east, a priest of Phelios climbed onto the ledge of the rampart. He was an older man with a thick mane of salt and pepper colored hair and a matching goatee. The cleric steadied himself by gripping the shoulders of two nearby men. Something about his movements was relaxed yet precise. Once he had his balance he released his grip and looked to the sky. At first he mumbled inaudibly, but then his voice escalated to a raised to a scream. His body began to emanate light and he was effortlessly balanced as if the air itself steadied him. Those around him turned to see the spectacle. As his voice got louder and the light grew brighter, man, orc and goblin alike viewed his manifestation. The priest’s eyes were replaced by bright orbs, which began to shoot forth beams of light up to the heavens. The words to his incantation were of no language kn
own to any of the men or Faletonians.
The spectacle was so magnificent and surreal that mostly everyone that could see looked the priest’s way. The gray clouds parted and a ray of sunlight beamed down from the sky to meet the lights from the priest’s eyes. The column of light stood against the gray sky like a great celestial pillar. The chanting had begun as a man’s voice and was now echoing through the sky like a song coming from the heavens. The hymn filled the human soldiers’ minds and hearts, compelling them to fight with renewed enthusiasm. Uncanny energy, strength and speed coursed through the humans’ bodies.
The song persisted and guided all men to attack with fervor. They no longer feared the ogres; they no longer feared death. Men who had earlier begun to cower from the site of the beasts, now yearned to shove their sword into the monsters’ bellies. Their moves were more dexterous and mightier than before. The eyes of all men began to have a marbled yellow glow. The other priests within the group began barraging the ogres with spells from above. Their gods answered their calls willingly and powerfully with effectiveness that they had not ever had before.
A pillar of fire, cast from a cleric of Phelios, engulfed one ogre, consuming his whole being. The beast beside him was being pelted with blue disks of life draining energy from the hands of a priest of Aya. Another of the massive ogres began to scream and claw at his own body. His thick powerful arms yanked at the straps of his armor, as his yells grew louder and louder in pain. One of the priests of Phelios had cast a spell that heated the metal of his armor to the point where it scorched the skin underneath. The beast was too distracted to defend against the swarm of assailants that overcame him. The song played on and the humans danced a battle dance to its cadence.
More and more humans reached the ground level and were met by the remaining ogres. The song guided them and they fought on bravely even though the savage beasts quickly destroyed many of the first attackers. More humans, eyes glowing subtly yellow, erupted on the ground level so fast and aggressively that they overwhelmed the defending orcs and fell savagely upon the ogres. Men went to the ogres who were preoccupied with the effects of priestly spells and shoved swords and spears into the distracted creatures.
The divine ray of light continued down from on high and the song went on. Ancient lyrics of a language from a time long ago filled the air as well as the heads, hearts and souls of the human warriors. It was so impactful that the attackers kept their fury even as the two giants entered the battle on each side, swinging their mighty axes and clubs. Without the divine hymn, most of the humans would not have been unable to quell their fear of the nearly twenty foot tall giants. One behemoth ran into the melee in a savage rage. He swatted men aside with his enormous club, taking three sometimes four out at a time. The men were hardly up to his knee, yet they courageously continued their assault. At first he seemed impervious to the attacks, but man after man slashed, chopped or bashed at him. One warrior would slash his calf, which was as thick as three men. Then that unfortunate man would be bludgeoned into a puddle of flesh and bone, but not before the next warrior would take a war hammer to the giant’s knee. Sooner or later, the massive behemoth simply had too many men on him, and was pulled down to the ground and killed sending a loud cheer up to join the divine song.
The other giant shared a different, but equally devastating fate. The priests of the sun god as well as those of the god of the hearth and home had saved several spells for this occasion. Once the second giant got near, albeit more cautiously than his ill-fated friend, the seventeen foot beast was barraged with spells. A large boulder appeared in the air and smashed heavily on his chest. Then a flaming sword appeared and danced around his body, slashing away. At that same time the giant became confused, he could not understand the pain or his surroundings. He looked about wildly then grabbed his wounds, unable to focus. This was the work of another priest’s spell. The cleric entered the giant’s conscious and obstructed his thoughts and reason. His mind was not strong enough to repel the magic and found himself extremely confused. He looked at his club befuddled. Then, before he even had a chance to kill one man, the behemoth was slashed and hacked until he fell to the ground. As he collapsed however, his massive frame landed on two humans, instantly killing them under his weight.
The other men around the giant quickly converged on the beast and put dozens of swords, axes and hammers to him. The ogres and giants to the east were slaughtered; the orcs were in disarray. The battle had taken a turn back to favor the humans…but the song was fading.
Then suddenly the song stopped altogether. The light that poured forth from the heavens dissipated. The yellow glow within the eyes of men vanished. Those near the seemingly possessed priest glanced at him and were horrified by the site. As the light faded it could be seen that his eyes were replaced by hollow burnt out holes, his hair was completely burned off. Most of his skin was charred so badly it looked like melted wax. Bone was exposed in some spots. Whatever happened was so powerful that his physical form could not handle it. Before the men near him could grab him, the priest’s lifeless corpse fell backwards off the wall, landing in a thump on the ground outside of the city. He had fulfilled his calling with the ultimate sacrifice. He had done enough to sway the battle. Within moments the humans to the east, who had invaded by siege tower and ladder, overcame the remaining opponents. The cleric’s body lay destroyed at the foot of the wall, but his soul was undoubtedly appearing before the mighty Phelios in glory.
***
The men to the west of the main gate were nearly a quarter mile away from the men who invaded with the siege tower to the east. They were, therefore, far from the priest who incanted the powerful divine song. Amazingly, the chant found their ears, although with low volume and lesser effect, however it was enough to give most of them courage to fight. They continued on, trying to enter the ground level strongly. The first humans to arrive were met by furious orcs, who had eager ogres waiting just behind them, anxious to slaughter men.
More and more humans came forward on the ground. The first line of orcs became overwhelmed, but this only temporarily advanced the attackers. As soon as the first humans passed the orcs, the ogres were on them. Men had begun to shoot arrows from the top of the wall, but it did little to diminish the growing number of orcs that approached the stairwell on the ground level, nor did it deter the thick-skinned ogres. Several priests who remained on the wall began reciting prayers to cast their divine spells. The next wave of men to emerge from the walls were enchanted with amazing quickness as was evident by a slight green hue that followed their movements. They were able to dodge the attacks of two ogres outside the stairwell passageway. The men that followed, however, were not blessed with quickness and were forced to engage the monsters, which led to quick death.
The enchanted men, seeing their comrades being slaughtered, immediately attacked the ogres from their sides, but did little damage. Even with enhanced speed they too eventually had their lives taken by the ten-foot tall beasts. On and on the attackers came and the ogres, orcs, a couple dozen goblins did well to keep them at bay. The priests’ magic continued on. Fire, energy bolts and even one spray of sharp rocks laced into the orcs and ogres. Enchantments strengthened and protected the men who fought bravely on the ground. Even so, the Faletonians continued to hold steady. Then the two giants arrived and entered the battle.
They came in side by side and then turned slightly opposite each other so that they could protect each other’s flank. They were massive, both about eighteen feet high and with muscular wide builds. One had a giant hammer and the other a club, longer than the tallest human and incredibly heavy. Any humans who came near them were killed with little effort. The orcs rallied around the beasts as did the couple ogres who remained alive.
The priests initially did well in helping to kill off several of the ogres, but they had used up their spells. One priest cast a spell that projected a beam of light into the eyes of one of the giants, which blinded him and sent him staggering. The be
ast stumbled a little but regained his vision and gathered himself quickly. A large boulder appeared in the air and was headed with speed at the head of the other behemoth. As the boulder got close, the giants swung his mighty club and smashed the boulder, launching it fifty yards away to fall harmlessly on the other side of the city wall. He then defiantly roared with anger and tensed his muscles. The priests’ spells were exhausted and the invaders seemed to no longer be able to advance against the orcs, ogres, goblins and fierce giants.
By now the mystical song had stopped and the humans to the west quickly grew discouraged. They couldn’t infiltrate any further and men were falling quickly. The situation seemed perilous near where the western siege tower had dropped its bridge. The orcs let out roars already tasting their victory. They pushed the men back towards the stairwell entrance, halting their progress into the city. Then, from near the smashed gate came the loud sound of a high-pitched horn blowing. Scores of the orcs turned away from men in the west and began to head towards the entrance of the city where humans were still flooding in. The enraged Faletonian warriors rushed towards the larger human force near the city’s entrance with desire to shed more human blood.
Kingdom Come (Price of Power Book 1) Page 17