The Foreshadow of Balance
Page 27
CHAPTER XXVI
The three of them ran down the stairs as Kaitlin and Alura ran up.
Straight away they launched magic up and out at the Chinerthian soldiers.
“Prepare, prepare,” the Shadow Ranger shouted as Chinerthians reached the gates and rushed through.
The King’s soldiers met them and battle commenced. The clang of metal against metal, the shrieks of the wounded filled the air. The Chinerthians managed to push through so that the whole area inside the walls was filled with fighting.
The Shadow Ranger saw a man by the door and ran to him. The soldier raised his sword, but Mattaeus disappeared into a shadow cast by the gate and appeared again behind the man, stabbing him. Another traitor ran at him and they clashed swords.
Bell used Galvyn’s bow to take out as many as he could as they came through the gates and then pulled his sword.
d’Gaz stood in the middle of a circle of Chinerthians swinging his mighty cutlass. One attacked, fell back as another came at him. He cut this man down, slashed another one.
The archers opened fire again as more Chinerthian soldiers charged to the gates. Kaitlin and Alura sent more blasts at the back of the army and men on horseback raced along the line keeping them from running.
“The True King,” Mattaeus shouted to Bell who looked to see men running up the stairs towards Lucas. He ran and grabbed a quiver of arrows from the ground and began to fire on the Chinerthians.
Lucas stood, feet set with his great double-sided axe in his hands. No one was getting past him, not because of the King, but because Dylan was in the room. And he was The Protector.
The first man got to him and he swung his axe, beheading the man. The man behind fell to Bell’s arrow and the next slashed upwards. Lucas stepped aside and used the tip of the axe to push him off the walkway and then he was swinging at the next.
Bell continued to aim and fire, taking as many as he could, but there was a seemingly endless stream.
The Shadow Ranger swept through the enemy soldiers, slicing and thrusting as he went and then he disappeared into the shadow against one of the rock walls.
d’Gaz smashed a soldier in the face with his cutlass butt and then a King’s soldier sliced his back. He stumbled forward and then spun.
“Traitor,” he seethed and sliced off the man’s sword arm.
He was then cutting his way through, trying to help the King’s soldiers that were overwhelmed. He was trying to reach the stairs to the King, but was diverted by a new surge of Chinerthians.
Lucas was now fighting two men with a third trying to push upwards.
Bell was sword fighting with three Chinerthians; he spun, swung, ducked and leapt, taking them down.
The Shadow Ranger appeared out of the shadows and stuck the point of his sword into the back of Commander Harris.
“It could only have been you,” he said.
“So be it,” Harris replied. “You are outnumbered and overwhelmed.”
“A dying wish?”
“Only that the Chinerthians had not tarried and had caught you at the prison, I do not wish to see so many of my soldiers die.”
“So be it,” the Shadow Ranger said and pushed his sword through Harris’ body.
The King’s soldiers seemed to be winning as the archers and Magicians cut down the charging army and the skills of the Foreshadow cut through the soldiers inside, but then more were charging through the gate, there were just too many Chinerthians.
Alura sent a bolt of magic and blasted three men running up to attack Lucas; Kaitlin pointed to a solider about to slash Bell and his heart stopped. Bell, saved, let fly more arrows at the stairs and killed another two men as they were attacking Lucas.
On the stairs the air was filled with Lucas’ axe as it swung back and forth, up and down, but he was tiring and there were many more to take the place of the fallen.
“We are losing,” d’Gaz panted as he came back to back with the Shadow Ranger.
“Keep fighting, Murtagh, I have called for backup.”
“From whom? No one can get here this fast.”
And then Nagendra swooped overhead followed by Delinda and Falaeus.
Delinda swooped left to where Lucas was fighting and ate three Chinerthians from the walkway and she grabbed two more in her talons and threw them to the ground.
Nagendra and Falaeus were swooping low over the fighting men and women, grabbing at Chinerthians with their mouths and talons. The wind their wings created made it hard to stand let alone fight, plus the dragons terrified the Chinerthians and they started to try and pull back to the gate.
The archers on the battlement drew down on the soldiers as they tried to reach the gate.
Delinda was now outside breathing fire on the remaining few ranks of Chinerthians and they began to break and flee.
Nagendra landed on the mountain peak, Falaeus on the flat top and they both shrieked. It was just too much for the Chinerthians.
The Shadow Ranger shouted for the King’s soldiers to pull back, let them get to the gates and the word spread. The people parted and the Chinerthians fled.
The Battle of the Treachery of Talon’s Fall was over.
The King’s soldiers collapsed from exhaustion, many wearily eyeing the dragons, only believing, hoping, that they were allies. The great doors were swung slowly shut by tired men.
As the three dragons took to the sky, many ducked and cringed, but the dragons flew over the battlements in pursuit of the fleeing Chinerthians.
The Foreshadow of Balance rushed the stairs having to kick away the dead bodies and met a bloodied and battered Lucas who just smiled at them.
“A Protector indeed,” Mattaeus laid hands on his shoulders and smiled.
“I had help,” Lucas said and smiled over Mattaeus’ shoulder.
“I wouldn’t leave you alone,” Bell smiled.
Mattaeus knocked on the door. “You Majesty, the battle is over and we are victorious. We enter.”
The True King lowered his sword as the Shadow Ranger stepped inside. Dylan and Connor stood behind him, Connor also with sword drawn.
“We are victorious,” he said.
“We are,” Mattaeus returned.
“Thanks to you. All of you. I start to believe that Sylvae can be freed.”
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The dead were buried, the injured tended to and food was eaten before the True King readied himself to address his troops.
“And of the traitor?” he asked the Shadow Ranger.
“Harris.”
“Harris? I believe it not.”
“No one else could have orchestrated it. There was no food because he thought that the Chinerthians would have us at the prison.
“For some reason they were delayed and marched on behind us.”
“But why?”
“I can only presume that the Chinerthians got to him a long time ago. It is a clever move. Give the Commander of the Armies whatever it is that he wants in return for never regrouping the armies. Any thought of rebellion from the ranks would be quashed by him.”
“Yes, yes, he could tell them that the time was not right or some such lies. Keep them deliberately scattered.”
“It was an elaborate plan to make it look as if we had failed, it would have disheartened the army further, perhaps they planned to still come here and slaughter the troops. It matters not anymore.”
“Then let us address the troops, the time for rebellion is at hand.”
The True King stood on the wooden platform outside his room and looked down on his remaining soldiers.
“Today you few have won a great battle. A battle against our enemies, against injustice, against Imbalance. This is not the end, but the beginning. Finally we have shown that we are ready, ready to fight, ready to win. This World will no longer lie under the rule of others, no longer will the people toil and not reap.
“You are small in number, but you are not the only soldiers out there waiting for this time, waiting to rejoin the Armies of the K
ing and we will find them, we will call them to arms. They will join us and together we will fight, we will reclaim this World as our own.
“The flag will be flown across all Sylvae and we will defeat any who stand against it.
“Balance will be restored!”
A great cheer went up from the soldiers and they thrust their swords in the air.
“Be ready, true and loyal soldiers for soon we ride. We ride for the Capital City, we reclaim Athenstan, what is ours, and I,” he smiled down at them, “would like to go home.”
More cheers.
EPILOGUE
They all stood outside of Talon’s Fall next to their horses.
“So this is it?” Connor asked.
“For now,” Mattaeus answered. “The Stormclouds will contact you.”
“How?” Dylan asked.
“Before they left, Alura and I joined with Thunderground’s Orb. We can communicate with it, and he with us through it,” Kaitlin explained with a smile.
“Cool,” Dylan responded.
“You will be well, Bell,” Mattaeus told him.
“Am I ready to lead?”
“You are and you are not alone.”
“Certainly not,” d’Gaz said putting an arm around his shoulders.
“Find the Magician’s Star, lead them to our cause and all will be well,” Mattaeus told them.
“I don’t want you to go,” Dylan said.
“It will be well, young Guardian, I will follow you through when I can. I will not leave you.”
Connor stepped forward and shook Mattaeus by the hand. “Good luck to you, Shadow Ranger,” then he gave Alura a brief hug.
They all said their farewells in similar fashion. Kaitlin and Alura hugged for a long time and then they mounted their horses. Mattaeus looked at them all.
“We are but the Foreshadow of Balance, we now ride to lengthen that shadow and finally bring Peace and Balance out of the darkness. May the Righteous watch over us all,” and then he and Alura rode to where the King and his soldiers waited.
The five watched them go and then Bell took a deep breath.
“Let us be gone,” he said and spurred his horse.
Part II, ‘Five Tasks’ can be found HERE
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