Wielder's Rising

by T. B. Christensen

  The sounds and sights of battle assaulted her senses as her party crested the small rise. The clanking of swords and shields was much louder. The cries of rage and pain were much sharper. The acrid smell of smoke stung her nose. The stench of burnt hair and flesh was almost overpowering. Motionless bodies, many of which appeared to have been burned, littered the rise all the way down to the field of battle. Kalista quickly covered her nose with the back of her hand. The sight and smell were almost more than she could handle, but she willed herself to stay detached and aloof.

  She looked out from her vantage point on the top of the rise and surveyed the battle in the light of the late morning sun. The field, from the eastern base of the rise all the way to the opening of the mountain pass, seemed covered with large groups of both Kalian and Balthan soldiers. She was glad to see that there appeared to be more soldiers with the Royal Kalian Army uniform than the mismatched uniforms of the Balthan Army.

  Although there appeared to be numerous pockets of heavy fighting throughout the field, one spot in particular drew her attention. Towards the far end of the field, near the opening of the pass, she could see infrequent bursts of fire emanating from an individual that sat alone in the center of a large ring of battling soldiers. It could only be one person, the Wielder Kadrak.

  She glanced around the charred command area. There was no doubt the destruction had been caused by him. She was grateful that although there were several bodies at the top of the rise, none belonged to Gavin. She tried searching the field below for a glimpse of him but soon decided it would be impossible to locate him among the chaos of battle. She would be forced to anxiously wait until the end of the day to verify that he was safe and convince him to stay out of harm’s way.

  Her attention was drawn back to the Balthan wielder in the distance as a bright bolt of lightning struck into the center of a group of Kalian soldiers. Somehow he needed to be stopped. It appeared that only foot soldiers and cavalry were trying to get to him. She wondered where all of the archers were. It would be difficult for a soldier to break through the Balthan ranks surrounding the wielder, but a well placed arrow could easily put an end to the man.

  If she were close enough, she could do it herself. The thought lingered in her consciousness. Why couldn’t she get close enough to do it? She surveyed the field of battle once again. If she skirted the battle and snuck up from the north, she thought she might be able to get close enough to take a shot at the wielder without getting too close to any of the Balthan soldiers. She turned to the lead guard and mentioned the idea.

  “Are you crazy?” he replied. “While I admit that your idea has merit to it, there is no way that you will be getting any closer to the battle than you are now. I have gone along with your wishes until now only because we are still a safe distance from the fighting. We should now return to the army’s camp and wait for the battle to end.”

  “You just admitted the merit of my plan,” she said. “And yet you refuse to act on it. Would you pass up the opportunity to stop the wielder and save the lives of countless Kalian soldiers?”

  “If any of my men were skilled with the bow, perhaps the chance of bringing down the wielder would be worth it. However, they are all swordsmen. Besides, we are here to protect you, not fight in the battle.”

  “I could make the shot,” she said confidently. “I just need your guards to continue protecting me while I do it.”

  “Let’s stop this nonsense,” the lead guard said firmly. “You’ve seen the battle, but you’ll have to wait until tonight to see your fiancé. You will now move off of this rise and return to the camp.”

  Kalista stared as the guard turned his horse and began heading back towards the camp without a backwards glance. Did he really think he could tell her what to do? She glanced at the other guards angrily as they began to follow. How dare they? She did not have to follow them. They had to follow her!

  She clenched her fists tightly on her reins and took a deep breath. She realized she was being irrational. The guards were merely trying to do their duty. She glanced over the battlefield with anxiety. How many soldiers were giving their lives for their country? How many would never return home to their families? They were willing to sacrifice their lives for those they loved.

  She scanned the field again, hoping that she would somehow be able to pick out Gavin. He was willing to sacrifice his life for her, could she do any less? She turned from the raging battle and looked around the rise. She soon located an abandoned bow and some discarded arrows. She glanced from the guards to the battlefield below.

  Fear welled up inside of her. She turned her horse as if to follow the guards but veered along the top of the ridge as if inspecting something. She got down from her horse and quickly grabbed the bow and two arrows. She then hopped back on her mount as her heart began pounding.

  She flashed a nervous grin at the surprised guards and raced off down the rise towards the battle. Behind her she could hear the guards yelling for her to stop, but she paid them no heed. As terrified as she felt, she had made her decision. She would risk her life in order to save those she loved.

  The guards would have no choice but to follow her and protect her. She headed for the north as she made her way down the rise at an angle. She didn’t want to be anywhere near the battling soldiers.

  When she reached the base of the rise, she glanced back over her shoulder. All twenty guards were giving chase. She slowed down slightly so they could catch up. However, she didn’t slow down too much. She was afraid if she went too slow or stopped, the guards would try to force her away from the battle.

  She turned her attention from the guards to where she was heading. Her adrenaline was pumping and her stomach was in knots. She couldn’t believe that she was actually planning on taking a shot at the Balthan wielder. What was she doing? A princess did not ride into battle.

  This wasn’t an archery match. It was a war. She could be killed. The thought was almost enough to cause her to stop her horse and turn around. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  The guards finally caught up to her. She spurred her mount to move faster to keep any of them from getting in front of her. She took a deep breath and tried to forget about the danger. Her idea seemed slightly less dangerous with the royal guards flanking her.

  She would be careful. As long as they stayed a safe distance from the battling soldiers they should be fine. They were on horses while most of the Balthans were on foot. If any moved in their direction, they could easily outrun them. She gave the battling soldiers a wide birth. Wide enough that she hoped her small party of twenty guards wouldn’t even be noticed.

  She continued around the battle until she was directly north of where she had seen the wielder. It was hard for her to tell from her lower vantage whether or not he was in the same position, but she supposed he likely hadn’t moved much. She pulled up her horse and studied the empty field between her and the large clump of soldiers battling around the wielder.

  “I underestimated you Princess,” the lead guard said as he pulled up next to her. His face was flushed with excitement. “I can see that you won’t be deterred in this endeavor. I can’t believe I am considering going along with this, but may I offer a suggestion?”

  “Proceed,” she replied as she pulled the bow over her head and inspected it. It was much larger than her own bow, but she thought she could manage it. The positive thing about its size was it would allow her to shoot farther.

  “I think we’ll have a better chance of getting closer without being noticed if we continue a little farther before we cut south towards the wielder.” He pointed at the foothills of the mountains. “If we ride all the way to the foothills and then work our way south, I think we can use the rise and fall of the land to conceal ourselves. We also might have a better chance at surprising the wielder if we attack from slightly behind him.”

  Kalista supposed the lead guard was right. They would be safer in the foothills. Since it appeared that he was no
w willowing to help her, she decided to let him lead the way once again.

  “I agree,” she replied. “Lead the way.”

  They continued forward at a quick pace until they reached the foothills. They then worked their way south towards the opening of the pass at a slower pace, staying in the lower parts of the hills to keep out of sight as much as possible. Kalista became more nervous as they got closer to the battling soldiers, but it appeared that as of yet no one was paying them any attention. The lead guard finally pulled up when they were still a safe distance from the edge of the fighting soldiers.

  “How close do you think you need to be?” he asked her. “I could lose my life for letting you go through with this and don’t want you any closer than is absolutely necessary.”

  She glanced towards the large group of soldiers. She was quite certain she could hit the edge of them from her current position. However, she would need to be able to shoot into the center of the group where the wielder was. She would also need to be high enough to see him. She looked around at the small hills between her and the soldiers.

  “If we can get to that hill,” she said while pointing, “I think I will be able to take a clear shot.”

  The lead guard glanced at the hill and then at the nearest battling soldiers. He glanced back and forth several times, judging the distance. He turned and looked her directly in the eye.

  “Can you really take an accurate shot from that distance? I don’t want to get any closer, but I also don’t want to draw attention to us if there really isn’t any chance of success.”

  “I’ve never shot with this bow before,” she answered honestly. “But I am almost certain that I will be able to get a good shot at the wielder from that hill.”

  “Perhaps you should take a practice shot or two first,” the lead guard suggested. “If you can shoot as well as you claim, we’ll try our luck.”

  “I only have two arrows,” she replied. “I’ll need both of them.”

  The lead guard smiled as he motioned one of the other guards forward. The second guard pulled out a full quiver of arrows and handed them to her.

  “Just because none of my guards are skilled archers doesn’t mean that we aren’t equipped with bows and arrows,” he said.

  Kalista accepted the quiver and slid off her horse. She pulled out an arrow and fitted it to her bow. It was difficult for her to pull all the way back on the string but she managed. She picked a small tree in the foothills of the mountains and let the arrow fly. She smiled as it glanced off the side of the trunk. She pulled out another arrow and embedded it in the bark of the trunk. She followed it with one more to be certain that she had the feel of the bow.

  She turned as the third arrow lodged itself in the trunk near the second one. All of the guards were staring with wide eyes. Apparently they hadn’t thought she was really that skilled with a bow.

  “I am ready,” she stated. “Let’s get this over with before I realize how crazy it is.”

  “It’s definitely crazy,” the lead guard said nervously. “But now that I’ve seen how skilled you are, I think we might actually have a chance. I think it’s best that we continue to the hill on foot. That way we will be able to keep out of sight until we reach the top.”

  He quickly gave commands to the other guards as to who was to stay with the horses and who was to continue on. Kalista took a deep breath as she began to creep towards the small hill with eight guards surrounding her. She wondered if her rash idea would really end up working. Could she really bring down the Balthan wielder?

  They were soon at the base of the hill. The lead guard slowly crept to its crest and slid out on top of it, flat on his stomach. He remained motionless for a few moments before sliding backwards off the top and descending.

  “The wielder’s easy enough to pick out,” he said after he reached the bottom. “No one is near him. He’s a little further away than the tree was but not much. Are you ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied.

  Her stomach was full of butterflies at the thought of what she was about to do. She had never shot at a person before. She tried to calm her nerves by taking several deep breaths. She closed her eyes and imagined that she was back in the fields outside of Calyn hunting snow lions. The wielder was nothing but a snow lion.

  “We’ll creep up to just below the top with you Princess,” the lead guard said. “Signal us when you’re ready, and we’ll all climb up on top together. I would suggest taking your shot as quickly as you can while still being accurate. We’ll want to get off the hill and back to the horses as fast as possible.”

  Kalista nodded in understanding. She took one last calming breath and began creeping up the hill. She stopped just below the top and readied herself to take the shot. She pulled out an arrow and strung it. She closed her eyes and tried to drown out the sounds of battle coming from the other side of the hill. She went through in her mind exactly what she would do. She would let three arrows fly in quick succession and hope that at least one of them would find its target.

  It was time. She signaled the guards and leapt in unison with them to the top of the hill. She immediately located the Balthan wielder, stood up straight, and let her first arrow fly. Two more followed in quick succession before the first had even reached its intended target. She dropped to the ground and watched anxiously as the arrows zipped through the air towards the wielder.

  * * * * *

  Kadrak let loose another lightning bolt and frowned. The day had not proceeded how he had hoped it would, and he was beginning to tire. The surprise counter attack by the Kalians had been fierce. He had been forced to spend the majority of the morning using his powers to defend his army instead of using them offensively.

  His troops had broken through the Kalian Army eventually and forced them down from the rise. They now battled on equal ground. For that he was thankful. His morning attack had also killed several of the Kalian Army’s commanders and left them slightly disorganized. He believed his army was gaining the upper hand with his continual support, but he feared that if he rested the Kalians would take control back.

  He suddenly sensed a disturbance in the air near him. Time froze as he located the three arrows, one after another, pointing towards him. All three burst into flames and fell harmlessly to the ground several spans away from him. He growled in anger. Apparently the Kalians hadn’t learned their lesson yet.

  He quickly located the source of the arrows. A handful of soldiers lay flat against the ground at the top of a nearby hill. Did they think they could shoot at him and get away with it? Did they think they could hide? He focused on the hill and snarled. They would pay.

  * * * * *

  Kalista gaped in surprise as all three of her arrows burst into flames and fell harmlessly to the ground before reaching the wielder. She had underestimated him. Before she had time to think of anything else, she felt a buzzing in the air and her hair stood on end. There was a blinding flash of light and a loud crack. Suddenly she was flying through the air.

  She grunted as she came crashing to the ground. Dazed and confused, she lay still for several moments. She then slowly pushed herself up and rolled over to her back. She stared up at the sky as her eyes tried to regain their focus. What had just happened? She blinked several times with her ears ringing. The sun appeared to be moving and growing larger. She blinked several times. As her eyes finally focused, she realized she wasn’t looking at the sun but at a fireball that was falling rapidly down on top of her.

  32

  Traven crested the rise and glanced out over the battlefield. A fierce battle was raging all the way down to the mouth of the pass. He disregarded the fighting soldiers and quickly picked out the princess and her guards. They were riding hard towards the foothills at a safe distance north of the battle. Where were they going? He shook his head in frustration.

  He had first caught sight of the princess when she was at the top of this very rise. He had thought she would stay put and he wou
ld be able to catch up to her at last. Instead, she had soon disappeared down the other side. It looked as though they would need to hurry in order to catch her. He turned to Darian with a shrug, and they both took off after the princess and her guards once again.

  As excited as he was to see her in person, it made him extremely nervous to see her so near the battle. He wouldn’t feel comforted until he was at her side. He urged Pennon to go faster. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing the princess because he hadn’t been fast enough.

  He glanced at the battle raging to the south of him as he continued riding after the princess. It appeared chaotic and disorganized. He wondered where the commanders were. He hadn’t seen any centralized location where the battle was being directed from. He hoped Blaize was okay. He would have to find him tonight when the fighting stopped.

  He turned his attention back to catching up with the princess. She and her guards had disappeared into the foothills near the pass. Pennon and Darian’s horse continued thundering towards the hills. He was so close to the princess and yet still too far away to keep her safe. They finally reached the edge of the foothills and pulled up.

  “Where do you think she is?” he asked his elven companion.

  “I’m not sure,” Darian replied as he scanned the hills. “The only reason I can think of for them to go into the foothills is to hide.”

  “Why would they come to this side of the battlefield to hide?” Traven thought out loud. “They could have just turned around back at the rise.”

  “I think they are trying to get closer to the battle without being seen.”

  He followed the elf’s gaze to where the foothills ended near the edge of what appeared to be the fiercest part of the fighting. A sick feeling came over him. What were the guards thinking? He booted Pennon and hurried along the edge of the foothills towards the fighting near the mouth of the pass. He kept an eye on the hills for any sign of movement.