The Shadow of All Worlds

by Shane Porteous

  Chapter 25

  No songs or war chants were performed upon the march to Sorn field. King Yadi hadn’t expected any anyway. This left the air filled with the dull, almost mechanical sound of boots striking the earth. His army and the refugees had worked fast and sufficiently in setting up the supply and medical tents at the back of the field. The army had been assembled, the Ebulon forces on the left flank, the refugees on the right. The Heroes United had taken up position with the reserves at the rear. King Yadi had showed great trust in them for they were tasked with dealing with any dragons that may come to this field. He would never speak of it, but in some ways he trusted Kae and the Heroes United more than his own troops, a truth that he despised but a truth nonetheless. His speech had rallied them to march, but their desperation had formed mainly because words were not enough. That point would be proven more on this day than any other. All that was needed now was for the enemy army to arrive and that would not take long.

  In the distance they could be seen, a mass horde of red, peppered with black and blue. Even from this distance the morbidity of the enemy army could be seen. It was a collection of dark, twisted beings, forged together to rape and destroy the inhabitants of this world. King Yadi could tell that the reported numbers had been exaggerated. He even had a slight numbers advantage of about 3,000 troops. Placing the enemy army at about 18,000. There were also no dragons in the sky, a cloudless and beautiful heaven of blue. It was an awe-inspiring vision that would look down upon what would be the dirtiest of bloodbaths. He wasn’t a fool and had no reason to believe the Heroes United were lying. The dragons would be upon this battlefield sometime today. This only motivated King Yadi to try and win the battle before that could happen, to slaughter the enemy so badly that they had no choice but to surrender or flee.

  As the enemy army drew closer he already could see one advantage he had that the enemy did not. He was leading from the front line and gladly would be one of the first into the battle. The Ulnath, which made up a mere 500 of the 18,000 all were positioned in the rear lines. But there was no doubt this was an army led by Ebulon’s oldest enemy. They were the only orcs who did not march to the dark beat of drums, they always marched in silence. Legend explained for the Ulnath brought death wherever they went and death was soundless.

  “Stand ready!” Yadi yelled, his cry being answered by the sounds of helmets tightening and weapons being raised. Sorn Field had been the perfect place for him to prove his worth, geography had ensured that a force as large as the Ulnath army had to cross it.

  The enemy forces had now reached the beginning of the field and Yadi could see the abominations more clearly. There were no human men amongst the front lines, just feral things caught between humanity and monstrosity. There were others who were even fouler, resembling the strange wolf faced beast Ulka had presented to Yadi. He could see women amongst them but few appeared human, many were wraith like, nightmarish shapes of darkness. He could see a small handful of men in black uniforms, having no doubt they were in fact human. He could see a few other individuals but his mind was searching for one in particular. He searched hard and quick at every face he could see as the Ulnath army continued to march towards them. His son didn’t seem amongst them, it may have been twenty years since he had seen Viadi but he would never forget his sons eyes, standing there with oblivion marching towards him that was one thing he was sure of. Apart of him was relived but another part was confused. If his son wasn’t here, where was he?

  He quickly checked the nightmarish mass once again and could see that some possessed Ebulon armor, some had once been his own people, corrupted by a fetid sickness. A horrid thought filled him, what if the Ulnath had allowed this Red Army to corrupt his son, as payment for them helping to destroy the city? The idea made him sick all over, that one of the feral things could actually be his son. He felt dizzy for a moment, his knees losing significant strength. He breathed heavily, attempting to rid himself of the poison of such a possibility.

  The enemy army now came to a halt on the other side of the field. They stared upon the refugees and Ebulon soldiers like demons looking for bodies to possess. The air was full of animosity, thicker than stone with tension. Yadi forced himself to concentrate, he couldn’t afford to worry anymore. This Red Army was a disease, a plague that if it wasn’t stopped here and now would infect the entire world. If the refugees and the Ebulon soldiers weren’t victorious the Red Army would swell its own ranks and continue the consumption of this world. They would move onto the dwarf and elf kingdoms, the goblins would be the next to fall, then the giants, until there was nothing left in this world except for monsters and orcs. King Yadi couldn’t allow that to happen, as he had said not while there was strength in his arm and breath in his body. Beyond that today a rivalry of 100,000 hate filled years would come to an end. Either Ebulon or Za-xayek would be crippled so badly they could never again challenge the victor. One civilization would perish the other would prosper. It seemed that it would not be so much strategy but rather strength that would win this battle, Sorn field was flat ground giving neither side an advantage. There was too much at stake for the king to be weak, he had to be strong and determined, his own desires meant nothing compared to the greater good of his people and this world.

  He focused once more and could see that many in the enemy army were wielding Ulnath weapons. Unlike most orc weapons these blades, spears and axes weren’t simply brutish, they were sophisticated instruments of suffering and death.

  The two sides stared at one another, both imagining what they would do to one another in mere moments. King Yadi swallowed hard as he raised his sword, ready to begin this hellish conflict. His eyes were drawn to movement from the back of the enemy forces, he could see an Ulnath hand raising a sword towards his own army.

  Knowing what this meant Yadi rushed forward, taking three steps before he bellowed, “Charge!” The refugees and Ebulon soldiers echoed his movements as they collectively bellowed and charged. In response the enemy army gave out a combined hideous screech as they charged as well. Yadi had purposely taking three steps before giving the order, he wanted to be the first into battle, he wanted the honor of the first kill.

  His body was pumping with adrenaline and strength, his muscles remembering what it felt like to be on a battlefield. He locked eyes with one of the enemy lieutenants, a woman that was far less wraith like that most. She would be his first victim, because that is what this Red Army was, not enemies that needed to be defeated, but victims that needed to be slaughtered.

  With his entire army now barely a step behind him he raised his sword and screamed louder. He buried the sword deep into her head, creating a near deafening screech to escape her body before she fell lifelessly. The sound would normally be a terrible thing to hear, but Yadi loved such a sound, it was recognition that he had claimed the first kill.

  The sound was followed by a symphony of steel and screams, as the two armies smashed into one another, like two beasts butting heads. The spilling of blood became almost like a sickening mist, rising and falling in the air as the reek of death could already be smelled by all. The battle for Ebulon, Za-xayek and the very world itself had begun.