The Roots of Wrath

by B. T. Narro

  The tips of their arrows had been melted off—many dozens of bolts were lying on the ground without a head. Only a few archers continued shooting, and these were men—and Aliana—who had been given arrowheads made of obsidian. I watched Aliana shoot her arrow into the face of a man—the only opening in his full suit of armor. I then witnessed another ally cast a fireball that blew off a second dark mage protecting Davon. However, more came over the wall to take their place.

  Flames grew near the edge of my vision. Screams pierced the air. Byron was descending from the turret with Remi, who burned two men trying to get to him. Byron kicked another away and yelled for those with wooden spears to take out the metal mage.

  I didn’t believe it would work with Davon and his nearby guardsman armored in steel, but I wasn’t sure what else we could do.

  I wanted to hurl myself at Davon, but I would need help if I was going to have a chance of getting through so many dark mages and their barriers of dteria. As I looked around for a demigod or possibly another sorcerer of the king, I noticed a blade suddenly swinging at my neck. I ducked under it and launched the attacker away from me. It was a man I didn’t recognize, wearing our colors.

  “Not the healer!” yelled Kataleya’s brother as a few more of his men closed in on me. “We need him to drive back Rohaer. Kill the king.”

  A large group of them rushed toward the tent. I blasted some away, but there were too many for me to stop alone. I trusted that our soldiers I had healed, as well as Kataleya, could keep the king protected, because Alecott was right. Without me, it looked like our fort would soon be overrun.

  I cursed the traitors inwardly as I checked the ramparts again to find two of my allies near the ballista—Leon and Michael—completely overwhelmed. Leon cast a spell I had only seen him make one other time, to show us what could be done with wind.

  The tornado he formed was small but powerful, whirling around at about ten feet tall. It picked up and tossed Davon high into the air as it plowed through Rohaer’s people, throwing some over the wall and others onto the ground within the encampment. Then the tornado made a sudden turn, clearly out of Leon’s control, and headed toward a number of our own men trying to get up the ramp. It threw them off as it picked up some of the looser pieces of wood from the walkway, which tilted and looked as if it would collapse at any moment.

  There was a loud snap, then a clank as Michael shot a massive bolt from the ballista upward. It caught Davon flailing through the air, impaling him and taking him far away from the fort.

  With the metal mage gone and Valinox still recovering elsewhere, I helped my comrades slay the sorcerers of Rohaer who had fallen into the fort from Leon’s tornado. Then I lifted myself up to the cracked walkway. It suddenly sank as I landed, nearly causing me to fall off as I flailed my arms and regained balance. I thought it was going to break, but it held, at least for now.

  “No more on the walkway!” Byron yelled.

  Just Leon and Michael were left with me.

  We kicked off the ladders Rohaer had put up while we blasted anyone who attempted to climb up on their own. I tried to keep up a barrier of dvinia to catch all the arrows fired at me, but some made it through. Most missed as I moved too quickly for my enemies to hit me, but a few started to clink off my armor. Then one stuck in my arm. I started to pull it out, but another scraped my cheek. There were too many archers and not enough targets for them.

  I was about to warn Leon and Michael that I needed to jump off, but I could see they were already ducking below the spiked wall because they, too, were overwhelmed by arrows. With us unable to push away the ladders slamming against the outer wall, soon Rohaer’s soldiers started to climb up and over.

  Archers stopped firing. I pulled the arrow out of my arm and healed myself. I was about to engage an enemy on the ramparts, but there was a loud crack as the walkway fell apart in a chaotic mess.

  I pulled myself away with dvinia to land on my feet as I watched Leon and Michael fall with the debris.

  “Fire!” Byron called out.

  Out of the swarm of arrows, many found new homes in the faces and bodies of Rohaer’s soldiers. Remi burned another as Michael blew one back with wind. I checked behind me to find that, surprisingly, Harold’s footmen were not solely attempting to kill the king. In fact, most of them fought to hold back our enemies as Rohaer streamed in through a hole in the middle of the burning gate. They must’ve broken through with fire and a battering ram.

  I rushed over and prepared to blast them back, but Charlie called out to let them come. I halted my magic and readied my sword instead.

  Every man who rushed into our fort had his weapon melted by our metal mage. Charlie could only disable one at a time, but he was quick. Each sword only took a couple of seconds to melt across the hands and arms holding it.

  There were so many soldiers pouring in, but we had the opening well-guarded. Fighting beside these traitors left me confused and constantly looking over my shoulder, but everyone seemed to be on the same side for now.

  There were moments when some of us were taken back by sorcery, but just like our enemies, there were many more of us ready to take the place of those removed from the front line. Rohaer tried to get into the fort over the wall, but Byron, Leon, and even Harold Chespar directed all of us to the sections of ramparts that needed more support. There was a surprising amount of organization, but still I feared for the king’s life.

  Bodies began piling up around the burning gate of the fort, all of them belonging to Rohaer. Charlie must’ve melted hundreds of pounds of armor and weapons in just a few minutes of hard fighting.

  Then all stopped. No more seemed to be coming.

  There was a strange quiet. The only sound was the fire blazing and wood cracking as our gate and walls burned. I lifted myself up to find that our enemies had begun to retreat.

  “They’re running!” I called.

  Our soldiers charged out after them. I took a risk by flying ahead of everyone to blast the wooden planks off the trenches that Rohaer had laid out earlier. All of them seemed too focused on running for their lives to worry about me. I thought about landing and disrupting their retreat, but I had the king to worry about.

  I soared back to the king’s tent to find that there was no battle here. Kataleya remained in front of the royal family with Rick and a few dozen of our soldiers standing guard.

  “Where’s your brother?” I asked her.

  “I haven’t seen him since his initial attack.”

  I flew back outside the fort and found him among the others, his decorated armor making him easy to pick out. He cut down our enemies as they piled up in and around the trenches. I opted to stay in the air and watch him, as I had no idea what he planned now that that it was clear we had won.

  I didn’t know of his capabilities with dteria. Perhaps he could lift himself like I could, which meant he could return to the king’s tent in a matter of moments.

  During that time, I must’ve seen hundreds of Rohaer’s troops cut down. They had shown no caution by attempting to infiltrate our fortress and decimate us with their superior numbers, and they had paid dearly for this rash decision.

  Among the dead was Davon, with the thick crossbow bolt pinning his body to the ground. It had broken through his armor and split open his chest, the contents within spilled out around him in a pool of blood.

  Word of the traitorous attack on the king spread quickly, first among my peers, and then among the archers employed by the king. Those loyal to us gravitated toward the eastern side of the fortress, where the ramparts lay in rubble. The wall was charred in many places, with some of the pointed trunks leaning away from each other as if they might soon break off and fall down. It looked as if a strong wind could topple an entire wall.

  We surrounded our king as we faced our new enemies, the soldiers and sorcerers of Harold and Alecott. I stood at the front of our smaller group, with Leon and our three demigods at my sides.

  Apparently, Souriff had
been unconscious until recently, while Failina had been too injured to offer much assistance. It looked as if she was fully recovered now, with her teeth having grown back.

  It was disconcerting that Valinox, alone, had nearly killed the demigods of dvinia and erto, while Airinold hadn’t been able to provide much support. But we had won and slain a good portion of Valinox’s army, many of their bodies still within our fort. I saw very few of our men among the corpses spread all around.

  Harold Chespar’s soldiers, all of them men, gathered behind him and took up much of the rest of the fort. Harold stood with Kataleya’s brother at the front, with his son, Trevor, on his other side. An invisible line was drawn between our armies. Harold looked to have four times the numbers of those loyal to our king, but I doubted they would attack us. They needed us, just like we needed them.

  “How could you attack your own king?” Airinold accused Harold, the demigod’s deep voice forming a hush over the murmurs. I wasn’t sure if he had witnessed it or just heard about it later. Either way, I doubted he could appear any more disgusted than he did now.

  Harold replied without answering the question, “I will be taking my army north to the castle. Lycast will be under my control from now on. If any of you wish to challenge that, you can do so here.”

  “You would sacrifice all that is good just so you can put a crown over your head?” Nykal asked incredulously.

  “I have done and will continue to do what’s necessary for Lycast. That is why I fought Rohaer even after the plan to remove you failed. We share the same goal, but you have the wrong methods of leadership. Every step you take brings us closer to our demise. You’ve put all your coin and focus into training a select group of sorcerers. They are strong, but eventually they will fall and your army will be nonexistent. That is why I must lead. You have good intentions, Nykal, but you are too nearsighted. You have focused solely on Rohaer when your people in Lycast suffer. You may wish to help all of your people, but you don’t have the means. The Chespars and the Yorns do. We will fix Lycast and win the war, and I refuse to let you take all the credit for something you will hardly be part of.”

  “What’s in this for you, Alecott?” Nykal asked. “The Yorns already have more land and riches than any family in Lycast. If you are not to wear the crown, then what? Why attempt to kill me with your own sorcery unless you have something to gain? And dteria, nonetheless. You are disgusting. It must be greed that drives you, especially given that your own sister stands beside me. But then, why let Harold wear a crown that you could one day take for yourself? It doesn’t make sense.”

  Alecott opened his mouth, but Harold spoke up first. “Alecott is a godly soldier in the making. He will one day be richer than all of us, I’m sure, but he doesn’t have my experience. It is my family who overcame the economic problems caused by Oquin Calloum. The people of my land have accepted the differences of their beliefs and have come to understand the importance of hierarchy. There is no crime and no thieves or corruption running rampant like in Newhaven and Koluk, the cities you oversee. With Alecott’s help, we will instill the same ideals across all of Lycast even before the war’s over.”

  “That’s a bunch of horseshit,” Leon said.

  “How could you do this, Alecott?” Kataleya snapped.

  “We are Yorns, Kataleya. Everything we do is for the good of our people,” her brother answered. “When you ran off to pursue your own dreams of becoming a water mage, I worked with our father to build our empire. You are the one who betrayed us.”

  “You have lost your mind!” Kataleya lifted her palm at him as if she didn’t want to waste all of our time with her brother’s nonsense. “Trevor, don’t tell me you knew about this from the beginning?”

  “You’re making it out to be much worse than it is, Kat. Our families wish to unite to save the kingdom. You can still do that with us.”

  “I would never!”

  “You are the traitor here,” Alecott accused. “The Yorns raised an army with our people in mind. As did the Chespars. Nykal cares about Lycast, but a man’s intentions don’t make him a good king. It is the power of his wit and the army he can raise. The Lennox family is weak in both regards.”

  “I was the one who formed and led an army against the corrupt king, Oquin Calloum!” Nykal growled viciously. “I spent all of my coin to ensure we were successful, and it’s because of me that our kingdom didn’t turn out like Rohaer is now. I did not tax the people afterward. I only sought help from the nobles who had not spent their own coin, like I had. Now you claim that I don’t know how to lead? It is because of me that we still have a kingdom that hasn’t fallen to dteria.

  The king pointed at Harold as he continued, “You had your chance less than two years ago, Harold. And so did your father, Alecott. I told them what needed to be done, and they agreed with me, but how much were they willing to spend to ensure we won? How much were they willing to sacrifice? Hardly anything compared to what my family did. The Lennoxes have always done what’s right and will do so again.”

  “You can prove your dedication not by speeches but by weakening Rohaer while we fix the problems you left behind in Lycast,” Harold said. “When you fall or give up, we will be in a strong position to defend the kingdom after I have given order to Lycast. If you come to me then and dedicate the soldiers and sorcerers you have left to our cause, I will give you back your old land before you became king, but only if you bend your knee and show that you can follow my lead. If not, you and your family will be put to death.”

  Nykal held Harold’s gaze in a glare for a long moment, both refusing to look away.

  “You may usurp the castle and take over the north,” the king said. “Cherish it the way a gambler cherishes his last coin; when everyone knows that it will soon be gone. I will take it back from you after we deal with Rohaer. That’s what you’re really anticipating. You knew that even if you had killed me, my sorcerers wouldn’t focus their efforts on you until Rohaer was defeated. You know we have enough to stop them. You do not return north to bring order to the land but to prepare to face me. Stop lying to your men and call this what it is. You are traitors making a play at the crown, and you are going to lose.”

  “If they are not going to help us fight Rohaer,” Reuben muttered, “then I say we kill them right now.”

  Alecott made a wall of dteria as other sorcerers stepped forward and made barriers of the same energy. A few fire mages prepared balls of whirling flames that hovered over the heads of the packed soldiers.

  “We are not going to kill each other here,” Nykal announced. “Only because we need everyone we have on my side to beat Rohaer. Harold knows this. He knows that we care too much about Lycast to waste lives fighting our own traitors. Not until after this is done.”

  I was horrified when men started walking out of our ranks, across the division, and joined the larger army on the other side.

  “What do you daisies think you’re doing?” Leon asked.

  Many looked ashamed as they kept their heads down, but they did not return to us.

  It was only a few, at first, but soon more started walking across. All sorcerers let their spells come to an end as Harold sported a proud smile above his double chin.

  “You can see what’s going to happen when we return to Lycast,” Harold said. “Everyone knows to follow a good leader when they see one.”

  We lost more and more men. I thought of many insults for these cowards, but Reuben and Eden called them out before I could. The more that we lost, the more nervous the rest appeared. Someone had to say something that wasn’t just insults.

  Byron announced, “Their army might be bigger, but Nykal has the support of the people who matter.” People finally stopped changing to Harold’s side as all seemed to be listening. “Nykal has the backing of nobles all across Lycast, even if they aren’t standing here right now. Don’t make a foolish choice based on what’s in front of you. Nykal recruited the young sorcerers who are responsible for victory. That
wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t nearsighted. It was because of Nykal’s brilliant decision that the sorcerers are here, and it is because of them that Rohaer smells defeat in their near future. If you wish to become the best version of yourself, then stay and pledge your allegiance to the rightful king. You will see great rewards once this is done. If you stand against us, on the other hand, we will kill you like we have a thousand sorcerers of Rohaer. You can either be part of the change we are making or you can get in our way.”

  I looked back over our army. No one else left after that. There might’ve been only a couple hundred of us remaining, but I believed in these people, and I believed in myself. I hoped they did as well.

  Harold turned and ordered his army out of the fort. We watched in silence, carefully checking to ensure they went to the proper storage shed for their tents and supplies and did not impose on ours. A few of the men who had been on our side just a moment ago looked as if they were about to open up our shed and start rummaging through our things, but I flew over and slammed the door shut.

  “I don’t care if anything in here used to belong to you. It doesn’t any longer.”

  A number of men started to come over to surround me, a few drawing their weapons. Souriff and Failina landed at my sides, and quickly the men turned away.

  At least we would have more resources than before—the one upside to many of our men leaving while some of their belongings stayed behind. We also had all the livestock except the horses, it seemed, because the rest of our group had gone over to protect the pen as some of Harold’s men started sniffing around as if they might take some with them. I imagined their journey back to Lycast would be difficult, but I was certain most if not all would make it there alive.

  It was probably going to become a very different place once we had the chance to return later.