Age of Azmoq: The Valantian Imperium

by Rajamayyoor Sharma

Pausing, Dag took a deep breath.

  “I will tackle the third beast myself with the remaining Ozek. I, however, want three of the Offense core to stay back and help the Yerin infantry to kill the remaining Mastheads. I do not want us to get crushed on both sides. The rest of the army is to engage with any other division approaching us while we fight, as these opponents would just cut through our ranks if the main army engages them. We cannot lose more men to these beasts. The troops would be under Elbir’s command in my absence.”

  Elbir started to protest, but Dag cut him off. “Need for revenge comes second to our survival. I trust you more than anyone else to lead the troops with me engaged elsewhere. Do not let me down.”

  Elbir accepted his role, without any further protests.

  Then, the field rang with Dag’s bellow. “For the Cekic Ortaq!” The Ozek and the troops joined in. “The Cekic Ortaq!”

  With this, Dag summoned his horse, and the other Ozek also mounted their horses. They rode out, in three separate lines, one for each of the beasts.

  In a minute, they all reached the front lines. The sight defied their imagination. The three beasts, completely uninjured, were surrounded by the Yerins. All around them were mangled corpses of the Yerin troops, hundreds in number. The three beasts were covered in the blood of Yerins. The brave Yerin forces had been greatly reduced in just a matter of minutes, but no one, not one soldier turned his back on this seemingly undefeatable enemy. They knew Dag would come and save them. They were the Yerins, and Yerins never ran from a fight.

  As soon as the troops saw Dag and Ozek arrive, it was as if a flame lit up in them. Everyone chanted, “Dag! Dag! Dag!” and Dag looked around and shouted. “Leave these beasts to us! Rally around Elbir, the last of the Cekic Ortaq and prevent anyone from interfering in our battle with the beasts.”

  Chapter 21: The third Beast, Zilonis

  Dag surveyed the three beasts.

  As Elbir had said, there was the horse Keshin and Gajanakra, the rhino. Also, just as he had predicted, the third beast was a war elephant. But to call the beast in front of them a mere war elephant was doing it injustice. Zilonis was truly colossal, over 20 feet in height, with tusks of similar length. But more than its size, it was the elephant’s armor that stood out.

  Every inch of its body was covered in silver like metal, which shone, with not a drop of blood on it, despite the massacre the beast had committed in the last few minutes. Even the seat of its rider was made of the same metal and was continuous with its body armor. The trunk was covered in the same metal, but it was segmented, to allow the trunk to be flexible. The tusks were covered with spikes made of the same metal, increasing in size from base of the tusk to the tip. The armor around its feet ended in spikes which the Zilonis could use to crush and pierce opponents under it.

  Its rider was more difficult to see, covered as he was, partially, on all sides by the raised seat on Zilonis. What Dag could see clearly was his weapon—a massive whip. The whip was longer than the beast, with multiple fine serrated blades attached to it. The rider was using this to slash through the soldiers who came near the beast. This did not match what Elbir had said—Had Kicik see this whip extending? There was no need for this whip to extend, it could have killed Kicik with its current length and form. Did he mistake the whip to be a blade? Were they reading too much into Kicik’s last words? There was only one way to find out now—by engaging the beast.

  Dag shouted again to command the attention of three beasts. “Zilonis’ rider—I am Dag! You have attacked us while we were engaged with another division. You managed to surprise and kill many of my men, some of whom were great warriors. No more! Now, I will be your opponent. The Ozek will engage with Gajanakra, Keshin and their riders. My men will stand back and not interfere—there is no need for you to engage them any further.”

  Zilonis’ rider spoke in a deep rasping voice. “So, you are Dag. The man does match the legend. I am Vimridh, the leader of our small team. My brothers are Ukko and Azrial. It is an honor to fight you and the brave Ozek. However, I cannot promise that no one from the Yerins will get hurt—that is up to you and your men. They would need to stand as far away from our battle as possible. Now, come! May the best warrior win!”

  Dag replied, “So be it. Ozek—Attack! For the Cekic Ortaq!”

  “For the Cekic Ortaq!”

  Dag and the three columns of Ozek charged, splitting the three opponents. Azrial immediately bolted away, causing eight of the Ozek to pursue. Ukko and Gajanakra moved slowly away from Zilonis, ambling across as if they had no care in the world. Zilonis did not move an inch.

  Dag charged Zilonis head on, while the speed core and the Offense core splitting up to probe its defenses from the sides. Vimridh egged them on, smiling at Dag. “Even the great Dag needs five others to fight me. I am honored!”

  Dag, ignoring him, shouted instructions to Ozek. “Be wary of the whip! And keep in mind what Elbir told us!”

  As he approached Zilonis, he could see Vimridh more clearly. He was a thin, tall, bald man, with no hair on his face and pale in complexion. The rest of his body was covered in some sort of black armor. What surprised Dag was this man seemed quite weak, as he was hunched over and had a face that seemed to indicate that some sickness was coursing through his body. That along with his raspy voice made Dag wonder what sort of a warrior he was—how could he command such a massive beast and more so such a fearsome reputation?

  “We shall soon see,” thought Dag, as he got close enough to the elephant to attack. Just like he had taken down the Mastheads, he jumped up onto Zilonis, Buuzmeq raised to cleave into the beast. Zilonis still hadn’t moved an inch, nor had its rider. Vimridh was sitting completely still, with a smile on his sickly face.

  The other five Ozek hurried on, flanking the beast of both sides. The Speed core, moving faster than Dag or the Offense core, had almost reached Zilonis. As soon as they were close enough, they launched a volley of daggers at the beast to test its defenses, attacking exactly when Dag jumped. Zilonis was as still as the air around them. Everyone who was observing the battle held their breath—the best of the Yerins was going up against the best of the beasts, a beast whose power was not completely understood.

  Some wondered whether Dag should have waited a while longer, to understand its strengths and probe its weaknesses. It might have increased his chances of defeating his enemy. Others were confident that their leader was far stronger than this mindless beast and its weak rider, and would wipe the memory of the last few minutes from the minds of all those who experienced the terror of fighting these animals.

  Buuzmeq made contact, and all the Yerins waited eagerly, for the metallic clang of a mighty axe hitting the Zilonis’ armor, followed by the familiar sight of the armor breaking apart, after which they would hear the sound of a skull getting crushed. Everyone was in for a surprise. There was no sound. It was as if the armor absorbed the hit, although not quite so. What they saw, surprised everyone, including Dag.

  Buuzmeq just slid off the armor. Leave aside breaking through the armor, it did not even make the slightest dent. Forget a dent, the Buuzmeq, the fiercest weapon of the northern tribes, didn’t even scratch the armor. The Buuzmeq slid to the right pulling Dag down with it, making him lose his balance. Dag, completely taken aback, tried to regain his balance with some footing on the armor, slipped on it himself and found himself falling off the elephant head first. Zilonis then moved, swinging its head to push the spikes on its tusks into Dag’s foot.

  Dag, sensing this even as he fell, pivoted around to get Buuzmeq to take the hit from the spikes. The axe took the hit from spikes and the swinging elephant head sent Dag flying towards the back. He landed near Zilonis’ foot, when he saw the massive elephant had anticipated this and was trying to crush him under its foot, or impale him under the spikes. Just avoiding the foot, Dag rolled away and pushed off the ground with his axe and landed gracefully on his horse who had followed Dag around.

  “The elephant armor is t
ough, and it seems to be moving well,” thought Dag as he returned to the front of the elephant. He had put a lot into the first strike. The armor was extremely thick and it seemed to be coated with something that made anything that it came in contact with, slide off. “That is why there is no blood on the beast.”

  Dag started circling his enemy. Vimridh still hadn’t attacked. He was just moving his head, following Dag, still smiling. He saw what had happened to the attacks from the Speed core—Nothing. The daggers had just bounced off the armor on its belly and legs. Not a scratch on it. However, what was interesting was that the daggers that hit the belly were completely bent out of shape whereas the ones that had hit the upper part of the hind legs were still straight and seemingly had just slid off. That gave him hope—the fact that the daggers were bent meant that they did not slide off, but made contact and bounced off. That meant a stronger attack might break the armor.

  He ordered the speed core wordlessly, who were waiting for his command on the Zilonis’ flanks, by raising his right hand and clenching a fist, to continue to probe for weaknesses. He asked the Offense core, who were also flanking the beast, again wordlessly, by pointing to his eyes, then to the bent daggers and his left hand pointing to the right. “See the bent daggers? Attack those areas.” Through all this, Vimridh still hadn’t made a move. He was just observing Dag and the others, mildly amused at Dag’s actions.

  Dag suddenly darted towards Zilonis, swinging at its underbelly, while the others moved around the elephant. The speed core tried to analyze and then test where potential weaknesses were in the armor and Offense core tried to attack those spots. Just as Dag was about to make contact, Zilonis turned towards one of the speed core and Vimridh moved, completely ignoring Dag. Vimridh swung his whip, with the first of the speed core just dodging it at the last second and the Offense core member behind him avoiding it as well. The whip extended slightly, which surprised both. In a flash, Vimridh twisted the whip, creating a whip lash that the two had to avoid again. In this second, Zilonis swung its head and impaled the Offense core member who had just dodged Vimridh’s whip, on its tusk spikes. The speed core member being faster, dodged the beast’s spikes by almost sliding off his horse. The horse wasn’t fast enough, and got struck by the beast’s trunk, which broke its neck. The horse fell to the ground, trapping its rider, who then had his head severed by another whip attack from Vimridh. And so Vimridh, in a matter of seconds, coordinated five attacks with Zilonis and took out two of the Ozek.

  While this was happening, Dag had launched a flurry of blows on the beast’s belly, with increasing intensity, fury and frustration. Dag had never been ignored in a fight, which had both surprised and enraged him. Swinging the Buuzmeq with such speed and strength, he had hoped to give Vimridh a reason to wince, to wipe that smile off his face. How could someone smile at him, Dag Heyat, in battle and then turn away completely, ignoring him? He landed at least 10 blows before he realized what was happening. The Buuzmeq had not created even the slightest dent on the underbelly of the beast. He could see a couple of scratches, but nothing else. He also saw what had happened to two of the Ozek in the time he was busy attacking.

  “Fall back!” Dag screamed to others, as soon as he saw what happened. The three remaining Ozek and Dag, regrouped and retreated immediately to beyond the range of Vimridh’s extendable whip. Vimridh did not attack or move Zilonis forward—he just turned and faced Dag and the three Ozek, still smiling.

  “I am disappointed with what I have seen here, oh ‘Great Dag Heyat!’ I expected the great Dag to at least pose a challenge to me. Hmmm… or are you waiting for me to finish of the rest of your Ozek, who I also find disappointing by the way, before I can see your supposedly fearsome strength?”

  Dag’s blood was boiling. This was the first time that members of Ozek had died in front of him, and there was nothing he had been able to do. This was the first time that his strength and his weapon had failed to even bother the enemy. From the time he was a boy, he had no equal to his strength. Even the great general Zastraax had been injured by his blade. This beast was something else, its armor, unlike anything he had seen. He had to find a way to defeat this beast. His plan of attack had to change.

  Dag raised his weapon, lowered it and pointed it to the left. “Stay safe, brothers!” thought Dag, and dropped the Buuzmeq on the ground. Vimridh’s smile disappeared—replaced by a look of curiosity. Dag then proceeded to remove all his bracers. He then removed the weights strapped to his thighs and from his horse’s saddle and legs. They were now ready to fight.

  Dag lifted his weapon again and moved forward. The Ozek split up from Dag, started circling the beast. Dag started circling the beast in the opposite direction. Vimridh was still observing, but was following Dag and the Ozek alternatingly. Dag and Ozek slowly increased their speed, still circling just out of range of the whip. It was obvious Vimridh had no intention of attacking, as he would be at a disadvantage due to the difference in the speeds of the horses and Zilonis. But Vimridh was getting annoyed. He waited for a few minutes just looking at this display of speed, and shouted.

  “Is this all you got, Dag?! Why do you behave like flies annoying a great…?”

  As if right on que, all of the Ozek flanking the beast jumped onto their horses and then charged at Vimridh. If they couldn’t hurt the beast, they would directly kill the rider and take control of the beast. They were waiting for him to lose some composure before moving.

  Vimridh reacted quickly. He moved his whip around to try and take out all three in one shot. The first to make contact was the remaining Offense core member who blocked it with his sword, but the power of the whip sent him flying. The second caught the whip in his hand and propelled himself faster towards Vimridh. The whip missed the third Ozek member, also who also just reached Vimridh’s seat. But he was not able to hold onto the slippery armor and fell back down. The second warrior, landed on the seat and swung his sword at Vimridh. With the whip ineffective at such close range, it seemed Vimridh was defenseless. But he merely used his left hand to flick the Ozek member’s sword away, when he realized he was open to Dag, who was right behind him. Dag, using the time the Ozek had bought him with their attack, had jumped as well without Vimridh noticing, had landed on the elephant and swung his axe at Vimridh with his full strength. “You truly are fast.” Vimridh smiled as his left hand was engaged defending against the first attack and the whip lay uselessly in his right.

  Vimridh let go of the whip, and kept his right palm wide open. Something darted across his back, into his right hand. This blocked the Dag’s attack completely, absorbing the blow. Mostly. Buuzmeq was able to cut into Vimridh’s back and draw blood. Possibly injuring him deeply. But Dag was disappointed and surprised. He then saw what it was that made their attack unsuccessful.

  It was an extendable blade. It was a wide blade that broke into multiple V shaped segments, connected by central thinner strips. “This is what Elbir spoke of—the blade moves extremely fast. And seemingly independently. No matter, I can be faster.”

  Both Dag and the Ozek warrior let loose a flurry of blows. Dag, with the weights removed was moving at blinding speed, difficult even for his fellow warrior to follow. The warrior, named Maney, felt he was taking up space on the platform, which Dag could use to outmaneuver Vimridh.

  Jumping off, Maney said, “My leader, I am hindering your fight—I will try to see if the beast has any weaknesses.”

  With more space, Dag spun around the platform, swinging around Buuzmeq at speeds which made it seem that there were multiple Buuzmeqs attacking Vimridh. The eyes of a common Yerin soldier were not even able to follow the attacks. Or the defense. Vimridh was using the flexibility and speed of his blade to great effect. Parts of the sword were defending, other parts including the tip of the sword were attacking, with Vimridh almost stationary—all he was moving was his right wrist. Deft, small movements to control the blade. Because of the attacks from the blade, Dag was being pushed to be defensive as well, us
ing Buuzmeq more and more for defense. The wide and double-sided axe was being put to great use by Dag to both attack and defend efficiently with minimal hand movements. If the blade attacked him from the top left, Dag used that side of his axe to block, deflect and moved the bottom right part of the axe to push into Vimridh’s defenses.

  Vimridh spoke to Dag in the midst of this furious exchange. “I must congratulate you, Dag. No one has been able last this long against my blade Valyanek, the coiled one. Its speed is unmatched. You are worthy of your reputation, your legend. However, you will soon be known as the one whose fought and lost against the strength of Valyanek and Vimridh, and your legend will cease there.”

  Slowly Valyanek was increasing in length, coiling around Vimridh, making his defense much easier, while the tip still continued to attack. Dag, despite his speed, was finding it difficult to find a good opening. Then things got even more difficult—the Valyanek started to slowly coil around Dag. He now had to switch from trying to attack Vimridh to attacking only the blade, just to keep it from coiling around him. He still found it difficult, as the blade coiled more and more. And with limited space to maneuver on top of the seat, Dag found it difficult to get out of the blade’s grip.

  “This contest is over the moment this blade envelops me. I will not be able to move to attack and it can then just shred me apart,” thought Dag in desperation. The blade had almost coiled completely around his legs, and Dag, to get out of the loop, jumped in the air.

  The blade darted up as he jumped, around his left to attack him from the right. Dag realized, in the time it took him to jump, Vimridh had gained the upper hand. He blocked the blade with his axe from his right. But as soon as the axe touched the tip, the mid-section of the blade dug into his left forearm. Dag, realizing that he can’t win at this range, jumped out of the seat to the ground, as the blade tore his left forearm apart.

  Dag was now on the ground, with Buuzmeq in his right. His left forearm was no longer there fully attached. Half of it had been severed by Valyanek. Without thinking, Dag chopped off the rest with his axe, and contemplated what he needed to do next. Seeing his severed hand, the Ozek around him, injured as they were from the battle with Zilonis, rushed to tend to his wound, just to stem the blood flow.