by Tim Paulson
“B-b-but... P-please!” Buckley said.
“Be silent!” he snapped, back behind himself, raising his hand. “At least you didn't lose the army.” The sorcerer sighed, putting his hands to his mouth, cupped together. “Alka!” he commanded in a voice that reverberated across the hills.
Aaron knew this word to mean come and he too stepped forward, unable to resist his master's call.
Narael looked over to him. “Not you, fool... Stay back and guard behind me. There are dangers here I thought long dead.”
Aaron nodded and moved to stand guard behind the throne. However, as he did a piercing sound rang out, like one single bell of a church, in the highest possible pitch, rung hard and long.
Buckley cried out in pain, holding his hands to his ears.
The sorcerer looked left, toward the sound. Aaron did as well. On a rise behind the Ganex lines stood a single red-painted goliath, a Valkyrie. It had struck its sword somehow to make the sound, attracting the attention of all those around... and signaling retreat.
That was Mia, Aaron was sure of it. Even without the sword of fire, he knew. She must have seen Narael return. Good. If they were lucky, some might yet escape.
Narael seemed unimpressed by the noise and stood up to look over his army, turning around, completely ignoring Buckley as he did.
To Aaron, something felt off about the sorcerer. He was different somehow. Buckley had noticed as well. The Veil Company man was unnerved and had returned to his couch without a word. Almost cowering.
“We've lost less than a quarter of the number we had. That's the last time I leave anything to you,” Narael said, his eyes glancing to the side at Buckley who opened his mouth but once again closed it, thinking better of whatever he'd been planning to say.
“Abnudu dingir. Alik. Abatu!” Narael said, his finger pointed to the west, where the wall of the city could be seen. In Aaron's mind, the words resonated. Creatures of stone. Go. Destroy.
As one, the golden-eyed golems turned and fanned out, heading up the hill.
This included the goliath they stood upon who began to move along with the rest.
Narael sat back down on his throne. “I will burn everything in that city. Everything,” he said, softly, as if whispering to a lover. “They will know my name.”
As the monstrosity below them walked forward, Aaron watched the Ganex fleeing ahead, or trying to. Several of their red goliaths had fallen over, eyes dark for lack of powder. Knights were climbing out, carrying the cores of their fallen comrades with them as they ran. A few goliaths paused to throw javelins or fire their mounted cannons at the approaching formation of golden enemies, but the weapons just bounced off with no visible effect.
Behind them, the remnants of the republican army had taken up station, hesitantly. They'd taken heavy losses and much damage, but still, they came, following the monster and his demonic toys into battle, a testament to following orders even when they're insane.
Besides the occasional javelin or cannonball, there was little resistance until the point of Narael's roughly wedge-shaped formation crested the hill. Then the thunder began. Only it wasn't thunder, it was the sound of more than a hundred gigantic cannons firing sixty-pound shells.
If Aaron had been human, he might have held his breath as he watched the shells arc in before smashing into their ranks. Soil and stone exploded into the air as the enormous cannonballs slammed into it. Several of the shots hammered into Narael's goliaths, knocking them down, but they just stood up again and moved on. One came right for them, making Buckley to yelp with terror.
The sound caused the sorcerer to tilt his head to the side slightly. His escalating annoyance at Buckley, at everything and everyone, was plain to see.
However, as the shot arrived Narael simply flicked his fingers and redirected the ball to their right where it arced over a short rise and cut a series of four trees in half before smashing into a stone building.
“You see weakling?” Narael said. “We are safe here.”
They were approaching the Magenberg walls now. Aaron marveled at their size. They truly were magnificent, like mountains. Sadly, as beautiful as they were, he had an idea they would not be enough.
Another volley of fire erupted from the walls. This time Narael held up both his hands while murmuring a curse too low for Aaron to hear. The shots rebounded as they came in, smashing into the walls, leaving massive gouges in the stone.
That might give the gunnery commander pause, Aaron thought.
Narael's goliaths were stomping the remains of a camp now, though it looked mostly abandoned. Muskets were fired here and there by angry Ganex soldiers and citizens alike, yet they did little but alert the golems to their location.
“Weapons are forbidden!” Narael shouted. “You will ALL die!”
Buckley adjusted uncomfortably on his couch. He seemed unhappy with this idea.
Why, Aaron thought? Why care? It was his fault this had happened. He'd brought the sorcerer back to life. He'd given him a body. Aaron had heard him moan about it dozens of times, usually after several glasses of brandy.
The Ganex were attacking again, two groups of goliaths were running in from the left and right. Multiple swords and axes burned with blue flame but Aaron saw Mia and her Valkyrie immediately. He only hoped she could make it.
One of the cannons fired above, smashing into a golden-eyed goliath, knocking it down.
Narael snarled and used his hands to weave a spell made of multiple golden symbols. Then he clapped his hands together and used his fingers to grab at the top of the Magenberg wall. A huge chunk of stone tore out of the top of the wall. It rose up and exploded, raining hundreds of flaming lumps of molten rock on the top of the wall and the surrounding countryside. This was followed by several secondary explosions of blue flame as veil powder stores along the wall exploded, bathing the walls in a halo of flame.
As the golden-eyed goliath to their left stood Narael turned to it, gesturing. “Abnudu, alka,” he said.
Obediently the creature turned and lumbered over and Narael began another spell, drawing lines, circles, and symbols of red and white.
This was new.
“Alik,” he said, pointing toward the wall. “Bad duru nasaqu.”
Aaron watched as the golem dropped its sword and ran. What did that mean? Kiss the wall?
Oh no...
The golden-eyed goliath pushed past its brothers, running for the wall. As it did, its body started to glow. Cracks began to appear on its surface that shone light from the inside. Aaron watched, transfixed as the goliath ran headfirst into the base of the wall and exploded. The flash was blinding. It was followed by an incredible billowing cloud of dust and smoke that rushed outward, so thick it blotted out the sun.
Buckley started coughing on his couch, though he tried not to. Again, this caused Narael to pause, grimacing. He had both hands up, deflecting flying blocks of stone that rained down from the ruined wall.
It took time for the dust to clear, time where only the light of veil weapons and the eyes of goliaths could be seen, and none too clearly. Then the light breeze that had followed yesterday's snow finally cleared the dust from the air, blowing it to the south and west. The extent of the damage could now plainly be seen.
It was astonishing.
Narael had blown a whole section from the largest walls ever created by men with one attack.
* * *
Marian brought her great flaming blade down from above in a final powerful blow, smashing through the golden-eyed goliath's defenses and cleaving it from the neck to its center. The eyes died and the creature crumpled into a heap of fallen rock.
“This is not working!” Mia said. “We can't kill them fast enough.”
There were simply too many of them. They were starting to surround her as well. Most of the other blue flames had gone out. The whale oil had probably been snuffed by the dust from the wall.
Even more frustrating, their sword had become jammed in the center of
their fallen enemy. Marian kept jerking at it, trying to pull it free.
“Leave it!” Mia snapped. “Take his weapon.”
A golden sword used by their enemy. Would it work? There was only one way to find out.
Marian ducked an incoming swing from another sword and rolled, snatching the golden blade, now dark, from the hand of the fallen. It was smaller than an arming sword, with a slightly odd design. To Mia, it looked like it might be weighted toward the end, as its thickness remained the same for the vast majority of its length but the feel of it, as Marian's hands reported to her, was anything but. It was actually far lighter than a veil sword of a similar size. What materials did these sorcerers use?
Whatever it was, Mia liked it.
The blade ignited instantly upon touching Marian's hand, with a brighter flame. Though now... not blue, nor gold... it shone with a bright crisp white, like the sun reflected from a bank of newly fallen snow.
The enemy's next swing was for Marian's head. But they deflected it with ease, incredible ease, and slipped immediately into a riposte that severed their enemy's right arm. The next swing cut right through its center horizontally, completely cutting the golem in half. Using this weapon the power flowed so much better, so much more cleanly. Mia could feel it... and it only took one hit to cut them apart.
“Oh... I like this!” Mia said.
Marian did too.
The next enemies came in a trio but a quick duck and swipe with the blade carved the left foot from one. Marian's next swing, perfectly timed, removed the right arm from another, just as it was beginning its own attack.
Mia saw the goliaths rushing into the city through the gigantic hole in the walls. She also saw the Ganex following them and she knew. Giselle was in there. Maybe Adem as well.
The poor boy.
Focus! Marian reminded her.
“Yes... right,” Mia replied. “We're going in too... It's the only way.”
Marian agreed, deflecting two attacks before breaking into a run for the opening.
They would get into the city and fight between the buildings. It was dangerous, but the Ganex goliaths were too few to even threaten their enemies from the rear. Inside Mia could have Marian set up in the center of a street, forcing the sorcerer's creatures to attack her one at a time, at least for a while. It wasn't the best plan but it was all she had.
As they ran in they passed Werner's goliath. His left arm had been severed at the wrist and he'd taken several hits to the torso but his estoc was still intact, though now it only glowed red except for the hilt where a tiny bit of oil still burned bright blue.
Werner's goliath pointed at the sword she now carried.
Marian answered his implied question by using it to cut the leg from a golden-eyed enemy in front of them in one swift stroke. It fell and Marian followed up by jamming the white burning blade into its torso, killing it.
Werner's goliath responded by pointing toward the city.
“Exactly my plan,” Mia replied, though he couldn't hear her.
Marian fought through the rubble of rock at the base of the wall and emerged inside where the sorcerer's monsters were indiscriminately smashing buildings and people as they fanned out across the tightly packed streets.
“Cavalo!” Mia said. “There won't be anything left to defend.”
Marian raced forward, slamming her shoulder into a golden-eyed enemy from behind. It turned and attacked, swinging its sword down from above. Marian sidestepped expertly and jammed her sword right through the monster's head, cutting up to free the blade. As it fell, they moved for the next. This one was tougher, more practiced with a sword. It took seven blows to get past its guard before Marian sunk the flaming white blade into its heart and it died.
Werner's goliath approached from Marian's left. It had lost its estoc somehow, likely to an enemy blade, and picked up the fallen weapon of their recent kill. It did not light, however, nor did it even glow. When an enemy attacked him from the side and Werner raised the weapon to defend himself, it did not hold. The enemy's golden blade cut right through it and continued through to the goliath's shoulder, severing the right arm as well.
Marian spun and cut the legs from Werner's attacker. The enemy dropped to the ground and they finished it with a slash that severed the head.
“Go you fool!” Mia shouted at Werner. Not that he could hear her.
Marian used her left hand to point into the city, making the retreat sign again, but Werner would not listen. Instead his goliath turned, lowered its head and charged an enemy that had just entered through the wall, butting it in the chest with his goliath's shoulder, trying to force it back.
The enemy raised its golden sword high to cut Werner down. He was too distant for Marian to interfere.
Then a goliath slammed into the enemy golem from behind, knocking it to the side before its blow could come. As it fell Mia saw those behind it. It was Greta, and another light class two goliath bearing a long spear. Sylvie?
Marian waved to them and ran past, putting herself in the center of the flood of golden-eyed goliaths still entering the city. They would hold them as long as they could.
Greta got the message as she and her smaller helper pulled Werner's goliath back to its feet and pushed him farther into the city. The few Ganex stragglers remaining took the opportunity to do so as well.
With the Imperial's retreating into the city the battle became furious very quickly. Blades came from all sides and Marian parried, deflected, attacked. Again and again. But as they came, more and more of them, Mia was forced to order Marian backward, deeper into the city, trying to keep from being totally surrounded. It was their only hope.
How many had she killed now? Fifty? Seventy? There were still so many, swarms of them.
That's when she saw him. At their center, riding his special headless goliath.
The sorcerer.
Balls of flame would launch from his hands as from a catapult, exploding on buildings, setting the city ablaze, house by house.
This creature didn't care at all about controlling the city. He just wanted to destroy it.
He had to be stopped.
Then a horn sounded from behind. It was incredibly loud, like a hundred Ganex horns strung together and blown at once in a pure single note.
Mia had Marian do a hard swipe at their attackers and jump back, so they'd have a moment to turn and look, which they did.
The sight was nothing short of astonishing.
Monstrous goliaths were coming up the streets behind her. Titans, every single one of them, their chassis bearing the stripes of white, gold, and red of the kingdom of Pyrolia.
It was unbelievable! How had they gotten here in time?
The lead goliath charged to take a position at Mia's right. It carried a gigantic two-handed axe that glowed a pale blue. Marian alerted her to something moving on the goliath's shoulder. It was a female leothan who carried the flag of the Ganex empire, which she was waving.
Mia laughed.
“Marian, I don't know why or how but it would seem, friends have arrived.”
* * *
“Where have these come from?” Narael asked, his voice once again edged with that unhinged quality of before. Aaron didn't like it. What would happen if the sorcerer just flew off into the sky and exploded all of his creations at once? All that would be left of the Magenberg and her people would be a smoking pile of ash. That had to be prevented... somehow.
“I would tell you... but you've forbidden me from speaking,” Buckley said from his couch. He'd been antsy for a while, likely he had to urinate and had been afraid to voice it. Now his needs were making him bold.
Narael turned, his eyes flaring. “Then speak, but do so quickly. My patience is at an end.”
Buckley stood, stepping forward. “Those are titan goliaths. They wear the colors of Pyrolia, an ally of this country we... eh... You have invaded.”
“They are no different from the others then?”
“They're
larger. They have many cannons,” Buckley stated.
As he said this four of the titans were lining up shoulder to shoulder in an area that had been an entire block of buildings but was now a scattering of blackened rubble. They fired their cannons, all twelve on each goliath, all at once.
The hail of fire knocked down five of Narael's golden-eyed creations. This was followed by the lone valkyrie, holding its stolen blade that burned white, running in and slashing each of them to death.
“Why don't you just kill that one?” Buckley asked.
Narael did not respond.
Around them the remaining golden-eyed goliaths attacked the titans as best they could, but the layout of the city was hampering their ability to surround and dismember them. Further, the great height of the titans and their longer weapons gave them an advantage. They could strike over and around the remaining buildings, keeping their attackers at bay and doing enough damage to wound them, making their destruction by the single marauding Valkyrie that much easier.
Narael stood then, turning slowly to face Buckley. The look on his face was a grotesque and twisted vision of hatred. His left hand came up, pointing a finger at the Veil Company executive but Buckley ducked behind Aaron's stone body.
The blast of fire that erupted from the sorcerer's fingertips scorched the stone along Aaron's right side, missing Buckley entirely. Aaron felt nothing, though he saw the stone, heated and crumbling. That had been more than just fire. The blast had been infused with the essence of hate itself. Aaron could almost taste it, like ash in his mouth.
Narael's teeth were bared. “Come out here and BURN!”
“I-I... merely asked why you can't kill her. We know who it must be! It's that damned girl with the dark hair. Just kill her!”
“Don't you think I've tried?” Narael screamed at him, spittle flying everywhere. “She's shielded herself from me. You know that don't you! You're taunting me like that beastly girl and her salmu master!”
“Y-you said you couldn't kill me!” Buckley replied, continuing to use Aaron's body as a shield.
“I lied, you disgusting nothing!” Narael said, drawing symbols quickly with his right hand. There was a red flash as a ball of flame began to form in his hand. “Tell me, mitu, before I burn you alive... Do you have anything you wish to say?”