by Jon Bender
Chapter 28
Celia kicked her horse to greater speed as she and the five hundred cavalry rushed to the right flank which was soon to be overrun. The defending mages there had yet to respond to the overwhelming force that had been thrown against the soldiers on that side. The enemy had deployed much of their force to the area, sending thousands of men and hundreds of horses to crash into the line. To make matters worse, magical attacks continued to rain down on the defenders with no response from Serin and the mages with him. Something must have happened to them at the beginning of the battle. She could not imagine what that something was, knowing only that if they did not get there in time, the entire flank would collapse under the pressure. If that happened, the enemy would pour through before turning to roll the Ale’adarian line up like a carpet.
As she closed the distance, streaks of fire flew through night air from her left to collide with a line of enemy cavalry that had already broken through. At first she thought that perhaps Serin had finally joined the fight, but looking to the source of the magic she saw three horses charging to the break. The leading horse carried two riders, the other two close behind, and she could see Jaxom’s white armor that she had heard described. She did not know the mage he rode behind, but it was apparent that the others would be his risen mages. He must have seen what was happening and came to counter the enemy mages. She was thankful he was there, even with the added numbers of the men with her, the defenders would not be able to hold against the magical assault without magic of their own.
A cheer erupted from the Ale’adarian men at seeing the enemy cavalry stopped dead in their tracks by the flames. Knowing that mages had come to their aid reinforced their resolve, made evident as they surged forward regaining ground that had only moments before been lost. It would only be a short won victory as the enemy magic intensified, landing among the defenders to wound or kill them by the dozen. Even then she could see two stone golems approaching the embattled armies, not knowing if Jaxom and those with him would be enough.
Leading the charge, she angled her men for what appeared to be the weakest point of the line. Finding a gap, all thought of strategy flew from her mind as she rushed through with her five hundred men following. Slashing to the sides of her horse Celia dispatched every enemy soldier that came into range. With the added momentum of her cavalry, the weakened area of the line quickly tightened, the men on the ground rallying to the reinforcements further pushing back the attackers. Just as it seemed they had gained the upper hand, the golems arrived led by a flurry of magical attacks. With the cast of enemy mages softening up the area in front of the golems, the animated stone giants moved swiftly to the center of the Ale’adarian forces, carving a path that the enemy was quick to occupy. Once again the defenders were pushed back, the men hard pressed to hold against the onslaught.
Balls of fire and bolts of ice slammed into one of the stone creations staggering it, sending spidering fractures throughout its hardened body. She had not seen where the magic had come from, but knew that Jaxom was responsible. The now weakened golem was quickly smashed apart by the defenders, leaving only one left to deal with, but even that would soon be too much for them. Fire, ice, and stone continued to rain down on them, some being stopped by Jaxom and those with him, and still it was not enough to make the difference. Realizing if they continued to fight this way all would be lost, Celia made a decision. Pulling away from the fight, she retreated to the rear of the line. Once clear she grabbed a horn from her waist, sounding the cavalry signal to regroup for another charge. Men on horse rode from the fray to form up behind her, but not nearly the whole five hundred she had started with. After several blows of the horn she had less than eighty with her, the others dead or too far into the fight to extract themselves. Corin had been right when he said once you committed it was damn hard to extract your men.
Seeing that no more were coming, Celia lifted her sword signaling the men behind her to follow to the right. They raced behind the defenders until they came to edge of the battle that almost connected with the river bank. Thankfully there was enough room for her and the men to slip past without becoming entangled with the enemy, continuing past the main fight along the river. Once far enough away from the rear of the enemy, she turned left straight for the enemy mages who were easily located when blooms of fire streaked towards the men fighting. Waving her sword in a side to side motion, the men spread out to either side of her in a line. She did not know if they would succeed, but they had no other choice if they were to have any chance of winning this night. When they had reached a point that her formation would soon be spotted, she thrust her sword forward and kicked her horse to its fastest speed. As the enemy mages came into view she was not surprised to find them guarded by men on the ground with weapons bared. She gave a small prayer of thanks that they had not been on horse, or they would have had no chance of succeeding. As it stood they still had the advantage even against magical attacks.
An alarm went up amongst them men on the ground, and they quickly formed into a defensive position as a bolt of ice shattered over her head. Smaller shards of ice rained down her men taking down several men and horses but not slowing the charge. Flame and stone took down more of her men seconds before they crashed into the infantry, shattering the hastily prepared defense as men were trampled under hoof. Gouts of flame and frost erupted forth towards them, but with her men so widely spread out the magic did not even slow them down. Pushing past the enemy soldiers, Celia did not attempt to even swing her sword at them, not wanting to get bogged down in a fight. Those around her doing the same as they drove forward past the men on the ground. One soldier getting close enough to attack a blue robed mage only to be stopped by a spear of ice piercing him through the chest. The rest of her men swarmed around the four mages with many falling, but what remained overwhelming the mages with their numbers. Even as a stone mage struck down two men with flying pieces of rock, she ran her sword through his back. The blade erupting from the man’s chest in a spray of blood. The other three mages were brought down in a similar fashion at a high cost to the Alea’darians. When the last mage fell from his saddle the enemy soldiers had caught up to them, and were beginning to press her men from the ground. With only forty of their own men left they were severely outnumbered, forcing her to blow the signal for retreat.
Leading what remained of her small force, they quickly outdistanced the enemy moving back to the main body of the fight. As she approached the rear of the enemy, she saw that the two forces had broken into disarray as men from both sides fought in small groups or alone. In the largest area controlled by the defenders was Jaxom in his bone armor, the other mage she did not know standing next to him. There was no sign of the two risen mages until a flash of fire from the rear landed amongst a group of the enemy. Jaxom was surrounded by Ale’adarian soldiers who were holding back the Southerners, while he and his friend flung magic to great effect.
Seeing a smaller group of the defenders about to fall under the blades of a larger group of enemy soldiers, Celia understood that she had not reached the enemy mages in time. They had done too much damage, and the Southerners could now win by the sheer weight of their numbers. With no other choice before her, she rushed to the aid of the small group of defenders.
Chapter 29
Jaxom had seen Celia and her men approach, knowing it was no coincidence that she had come from that direction after the enemy’s magic had stopped casting. He only feared that it had come too late, with so many of the defenders now out of the fight, the Southerners now had a far superior advantage in numbers. He continued to hurl magic into the invaders ranks, casting the blight, and raising fallen soldiers to fight again. Darian fought valiantly by his side, slaying the enemy one after another to have the ones he killed replaced by two more. It seemed an endless tide that would soon wash them away into oblivion.
Out of the corner of his eye his saw a dark shape streak from the air, and readied himself for whatever the enemy had now conjured
. He saw it again as the blur of darkness ripped one of the attackers from the ground and he understood. It was Adriana and Brenin riding the Durgen that were tearing into the Southerners ranks. They must have run out of arrows, and were now resorting to direct attacks to keep themselves in the fight. The blurs of darkness struck quickly one after the other, and it was impossible for his two friends to be doing so much damage alone. The thought was confirmed when he got a good look at one of Durgen which held no rider. There was only one explanation for what was happening, Alimar for whatever reason, had decided to aid them. Jaxom did not know where the other death mage was, but he was glad the man had decided to fight with them.
It seemed that for once the defenders now held the upper hand as twenty Durgen continued to rip through the enemy. The Southerners began looking up for the unseen creatures, distracting them from the fight on the ground. Just as he felt his hope rise at thinking they could win this, three fire balls soared through the air hitting two of the durgen and narrowly missing a third. The cast had not come from the enemy side, but from behind the Ale’adarian line. Jaxom knew what had happened to Serin and his mages.
“Serin has betrayed us,” he shouted to Darian, grabbing the other mage by the shoulder. “We must get to him quickly if we have any hope of ever seeing daylight.”
The other mage looked at him for a moment as if Jaxom had gone mad. “I know the man is not trustworthy, but even he is not capable of such a thing,” Darian said. No sooner had the words left his mouth then another of the durgen was struck down by fire which source was clearly to their rear. The realization of what was transpiring clear on the ice mage’s face. “What could he possibly gain with this move? If we lose here the Southerners will kill him along with the rest of us.”
“I don’t know, but if we don’t stop him it will not matter,” Jaxom replied.
The other man nodded his head in assent. “What do we do? We do not have horses to reach him in time.”
“Let me worry about that, we just need to get out of here quickly,” Jaxom said a plan already coming together in his head.
“Okay, stay right behind me,” Darian said before turning to run through the Ale’adarian soldiers circling them.
Seeing what direction his friend was taking them, Jaxom reached out to his two risen mages who were continuing to fight from horseback at a distance. He commanded them to ride hard for where he and Darian would come out of the thick fighting… if they came out. Once clear of the circle, walls of ice began erupting every ten feet to either side in front of them. Carving a trail through the battle that allowed them breathing room to run. Any Southern soldier unfortunate enough to be caught between a set of walls was cut down by a bolt of ice through his chest. Sheathing his sword Jaxom ran after his friend as Darian cleared a path for them.
After what seemed like an eternity to Jaxom, but was probably in actuality only minutes, they burst forth from the entangled armies to find his risen mages casting at any target nearby. Darian collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily from the exertion of getting them this far. Grabbing him under the shoulder, Jaxom lifted the man up, boosting him up behind the risen ice mage before climbing up behind the female fire mage. With a command from Jaxom, the risen directed their horses to the general area where Jaxom thought Serin would be. The sudden jerk as the horse was kicked to a gallop nearly throwing Darian from the back, forcing him to grab on tightly to waist of the risen mage. He was not disappointed by his choice of location, seeing more flames as well as stone flying forth to strike down a Durgen or Ale’adarian soldier. Serin was not alone, the mages who were supposed to have been helping the defenders must have joined him. Looking over the shoulder of the risen fire mage, Jaxom could make out four figures sitting atop horses in the gloom.
With a thought the risen mages raised their hands, sending forth magical death at the traitors. The mage he rode behind throw spheres of flame to be met by a wall of fire absorbing the attack easily. An earth mage who had tried to raise a wall of stone before him was not quick enough, the wall only climbing to the height of his horse before several icicles struck him in the neck and chest. Jaxom cast a black veil between the groups before jumping to land at a run, drawing his sword along the way. Darian had dismounted in a similar fashion, flinging ice and frost once he was on the ground. Balls of flame shot through the veil at random, all striking the ground around Jaxom, showering him in a spray of dirt and stone. Passing through the veil, he came out next to the fire mage that had survived the first attack. With a quick swipe of his sword he cleaved half way through the mage’s leg, the traitor grabbing at the gruesome wound screaming as he did so. Reversing his blade, Jaxom brought it across the man’s throat silencing him forever.
Looking to his left, Jaxom saw Darian holding both hands forward, a steady stream of frost fighting against the remainder of Serin’s allies. The traitorous mage countering by casting a solid column of flame. It seemed a deadlock between the two men until his friend redoubled his efforts overpowering the fire mage, first pushing back the flame, then overwhelming it completely. The traitorous mage was helpless as the stream of frost enveloped him, bringing his arms up in a futile attempt to defend himself as his body froze solid. Jaxom looked to Serin who had sat calmly on his horse throughout the entire fight. Outnumbered four to one Jaxom thought he would have no choice but to surrender. A wall of flame fifteen feet in height erupted around the former leader of the mages, protecting him from the small group who continued to fling magic at him.
When it was apparent that nothing was getting through the impenetrable wall, Jaxom ordered his risen mages to cease their attacks. “Give up Serin, you can’t win,” Jaxom yelled to the man through the flames.
“I should have killed you the first day you arrived at the palace boy,” Serin said with anger in his voice. “You have proven to be more trouble than I had anticipated. Or’Keer told me to remove you, but you hardly seemed the threat he thought you would be.”
The man served the dark god? This revelation encouraged Jaxom to try and take the traitorous mage alive to question him. “Yes, you should have but it doesn’t matter now. The southerners will soon be defeated, and you are not going anywhere,” Jaxom said with the confidence that what he spoke was true.
Serin let out a long laugh that sent chills up Jaxom spine. “You have no idea of the power you are up against. This little fight is but a side note in what is to come, Ale’adar is simply the first kingdom of many that will soon fall to my god. Even as we speak the palace has been taken, and soon all within the city will serve Or’Keer or die. It does not matter who wins here, whatever force is left after tonight will not be able to take the prize that we have claimed.”
Fear ran through Jaxom as he recalled what Alimar had told him about servants of Or’Keer hidden within the city. “Surrender now Serin, and I promise that you will be treated well,” he said.
The other mage laughed again. “You still do not understand,” Serin said. A thump to the right drew Jaxom’s attention to the winged durgen that had landed nearby. On top of the risen sat Alimar staring at Serin. “Ah good, I am glad you have shown yourself Alimar. Or’Keer will be pleased to have both you and this upstart out of the way. He was not happy when he found out that you had betrayed him.”
“I found that our deal no longer suited me,” Alimar said from atop his risen mount. “The dark god made promises that he had no intention of keeping.”
“Fool, what is resurrecting the school of death mages compared to the power that service to Or’Keer would have brought,” Serin said. “Kill the boy now and perhaps my lord will forgive you.” Alimar did not move, continuing his hard stare at the fire mage. “Very well, I was going to kill you anyway.”
Jaxom could not understand how the man could still be so confident. Once he could no longer hold the fire wall, Jaxom and the others would take the traitor. Then Serin did something unexpected, the former leader of the mages lowered his head and began to speak quietly to himself. Jaxom knew i
mmediately what was happening having seen Da’san do the same thing many times over… Serin was praying. Since mages had no need to ask for power from a god, and the man had already declared himself a servant of Or’Keer, there was only one possibility. He was calling on power from the dark god to aid his already considerable magic. The darkness around the man began to deepen and grow, as if Serin himself and become a blight in the night itself. Within seconds the fire mage could no longer be seen behind the blackness as it formed a new body around him. In a panic Jaxom ordered his risen mages to attack the servant of Or’Keer, and cast the blight into the wall of fire. Darian and Alimar came to the same conclusion joining in the assault, but it did not matter as nothing the group threw got though the defenses.
Serin’s body had doubled in size with his entire mass made of darkness, his shadowy form a darker spot in the night, easily making his shape visible. Before Serin had completed his transformation, two forms streaked in from the sky raking the creature he had become. At first Jaxom thought that Alimar had figured out how to bring the thing down, but his hopes were dashed on the durgen’s second pass as Serin lashed out with clawed hands shredding the flying risen midair. The horse he sat on began to whiny and shift as the man became too heavy, annoyed with the animal Serin brought his claws to bear on its neck severing the head entirely. Now standing over the carcass of the horse, Jaxom could see how horrific and large the fire mage had become with his head rising just over the flames. The entirety of his new body rippled with muscles, a maw of black fangs large enough to swallow a man at the shoulders, and arms hanging to his knees ending in five curving claws as long as swords.
