The enemy, because of the megatrem and the krugle, were now engaged with the elite companies guarding the Fereghen, and from what Marilee could see, the seklesem were withering under the advance of the megatrem and krugle.
“The Fereghen!” their company captain shouted, back on her horse, her left arm bound in a sling. “To the Fereghen!” she shouted, and her shout was heard all around them, as the other company captains of the Third Legion saw the Fereghen’s plight. Across the pass, the Fourth Legion was bogged down in a fight with companies of wedaterem, and the First and Second Legions had been driven back on either side of the Fereghen’s elite legion by other companies of wedaterem and purem. The Third Legion was thus left to come to the aid of the Fereghen and ground its way toward him, from the rear of the enemy. The Third Legion was led by the prowess of the Eighth Company, and the Eighth Company got its inspiration from the eighth squad, and the newest member of that squad, Delgart. More than ten years of hard living, a slave to pirates, well-prepared Delgart for battle, and the sword techniques he had mastered inspired his squad to redoubled effort, which spurred the Eighth Company forward, and the other companies of the Third Legion rushed after the Eighth. The Third Legion’s progress slowed when the Eighth Company engaged the squad of krugle following the megatrem assaulting the Fereghen.
“Spread formation!” Marilee shouted, seeing as they approached that the biggest danger with the krugle was the huge hammer each carried, which could wipe out a squad grouped tightly together with a single swing. “Archers!” Marilee shouted, “loose at will!”
The arrows did little damage to the krugle, their skin being thick and hard, like the elemental ice from which they had been formed, but it caused one of the giant, bearded krugle to turn and face them. Delgart darted in, swords swinging and cutting at the legs of the giant. The krugle roared in fury, swinging his hammer to crush the insolent fly stinging his legs. Delgart was ready for this, darting to the left as the hammer came down, the head sinking to the handle in the ground. Delgart swung both sabers in quick succession, striking at the krugle’s wrist. The giant released the handle of his hammer, now roaring in pain. The archers of the squad loosed arrows at the krugle’s face, while the other swords and shields darted in to slice at the giant’s legs, but first sword Klarik, thin and wiry with limp brown hair, dodged the wrong way and was hit by the krugle’s flailing left fist; he flew ten feet behind the giant and did not get up. The giant tried to grab his hammer a second time, but Delgart was waiting, swinging both swords as before, shearing off the giant’s right hand; the blue-blood dripped onto the ground, freezing immediately. The krugle staggered back, howling in pain and holding the stump of his right arm. Delgart darted forward between the giant’s legs as he staggered, swords swinging and cutting the tendons behind the krugle’s knees. The giant crumpled to the ground; Delgart rolled to his left and onto his feet, leaping onto the chest of the fallen giant. Reversing his grip on both sabers, he drove them both into the chest of the krugle, who struggled for a moment before going still.
A cheer erupted around them, but Marilee’s shout cut through the sound: “Lookout!” she shouted at Delgart.
Delgart used his two sabers, still stuck in the dead krugle, to vault himself back toward Marilee, but one of the sabers stuck when he tried to pull them both free, and he narrowly missed having his left hand crushed by the krugle who had come to the aid of her comrade. Because she stretched forward as she swung to crush Delgart, the newest seklesi found himself beneath the attacker; he heard the sound of crunching bones as the krugle’s hammer struck the chest of her fallen comrade. Grabbing his remaining saber with both hands, Delgart drove the point straight up and into the chest of the krugle, who was leaning over him, just beneath the wide band of fur covering her breasts. He had just enough time to leap out of the way before she slumped to the ground, leaving his saber behind. Marilee looked up, surprised to see that all the krugle had turned toward Delgart. This gave the other squads of the Eighth Company opportunities to dart after them, hamstringing them as they had seen Delgart do to the first ice giant. Delgart rolled left, then right, escaping the hammer blows meant to crush him. The krugle still standing had to turn and face the other squads of the Eighth Company, giving the eighth squad a few moments to rest and resupply from the company quartermaster, who had caught up to them, leading a laden horse. Marilee again shouted at Delgart, calling him a fool and then throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. She looked up into his eyes and released him, suddenly noticing how much he looked like Rokwolf. She flushed and turned away.
“You’ll need new swords,” Marilee stammered. Her voice grew stronger. “Archers, resupply and reform.” Grelsor walked toward her. “Klarik?” she asked, even though she could see the answer written in the lines of her chief kailu’s face.
“Broken neck,” Grelsor said sadly.
The corners of Marilee’s mouth twitched. “Form up!” she shouted to cover her feelings. She turned to see how the rest of the company fared, and she saw that they were just bringing down the last krugle. Her eyes moved past them to the megatrem and saw the elite guard around the Fereghen falling. To her right, she saw companies of the tall wedaterem turning from the battle with the Fourth Legion to come their way, but the Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Companies of the Third Legion were moving to protect the Eighth Company’s exposed flank. Up the pass, she saw the companies of nekerpum blocking the pass but not moving forward to attack. This caused her to pause momentarily, wondering why they did not attack. The First through Sixth Companies of the Third Legion were moving to attack the legion of purem driving back the Second Legion. Again, the Eighth Company was left to deal with the megatrem attacking the Fereghen, with their sooty red skin and flaming swords. Her squad formed around her, now four short.
“Let’s go,” she said, casting a glance at Delgart, whirling his two new sabers eagerly. The company quartermaster moved among the other squads, who had just brought down the last of the krugle. Marilee directed her squad to the closest of the three remaining megatrem. “Archers,” she shouted, “get his attention,” she pointed at the nearest of the three.
The archers in her squad directed several volleys at the nearest megatri who turned to see who or what attacked him. He roared with laughter seeing the single squad moving toward him; he strode forward, swinging his flaming sword, long as the height of two wethem. Where the krugle were nearly three times the height of the seklesem, the megatrem were four times as tall; one of them with a sword could cut down an entire squad with a single, well-aimed stroke. Unlike the krugle, the megatrem were accomplished smiths, so each one was heavily armored in sooty black iron plates.
“Spread out!” Marilee shouted. She could hear the shouts of the other squad leaders of her company behind her and moving her way. If they could just keep him occupied and stay out of his way, they just might survive this encounter. Her squad spread out, forming a partial circle around the megatri, just out of reach of his sword. The giant wore a great black helmet with a visor that protected his eyes; he laughed when volley after volley from the archers bounced of his armor and thick skin.
“Fools!” he roared. “Do you not recognize death when you see it?” He smiled wickedly at them. “Soon we will have your Fereghen, and my lord will crush him with his bare hand! Surrender, and we will spare your lives!” He lunged toward them with his sword, and her squad scattered away from the blade. He roared again with laughter. “You scatter like frightened mice!”
Out of the corner of her eye, Marilee saw someone moving. “Delgart! No!” she shouted, but too late, for the megatri had seen him.
“What’s this?” the giant asked.
“You do not frighten me,” Delgart shouted up at the megatri. “You are much like the fire from which you were bred: loud and noisy and nothing but hot air.”
“Have you come to die first, little mouse?” the megatri laughed.
“No, kaiwi,” Delgart retorted. “I have killed already this day an
orange and a blue aperum, two of your krugle friends, and scores of purem and ghelem, without breaking into a sweat. I will kill you, too, kaiwi.”
The megatri threw back his head to laugh, which was a ploy to cover his attack: his sword whistled through the air toward Delgart. But the newest seklesi was counting on this action; he rolled forward between the megatri’s legs, coming to his feet and slicing left then right with his swords. The megatri’s greaves fell off with a loud clatter.
“I am too quick for you, kaiwi,” Delgart shouted up at him.
As the megatri turned, Delgart dodged his huge feet, slicing right and left with his swords, cutting the straps of the megatri’s huge leather sandals; the megatri stumbled, his feet tangled in the remains of his sandals, and again, Delgart darted between his legs and behind him. Marilee suddenly saw the wisdom of Delgart’s brash move: the megatri were so tall that the closer one was to the giant, the harder one was, for the sooty, red-skinned monster, to hit. Marilee looked up from Delgart, just as Delgart passed between the megatri’s legs, and she saw the second megatri coming toward them.
“Lookout!” Marilee shouted.
“I see!” Delgart shouted back.
“Archers all!” Marilee shouted to her squad, and heard the other squad leaders echoing her command. “Aim for the joints and the leather straps securing their armor!”
Delgart leapt over the sword swing of the second megatri, then darted back between the legs of the first, who was still turning. As he passed, he sliced at the huge calves of the first, causing him to roar in pain and fury. He grasped his huge sword with both hands, reversing it to stab down. Delgart turned and, seeing what the megatri was about to do, paused long enough for the giant to aim and stab down in all his fury. Delgart rolled forward just in time, and the blade sank halfway to the handle in the ground. The newest seklesi came to his feet beneath the megatri, and whirling his swords, sliced up the underside of the giant’s exposed wrists and forearms, but Delgart, seeing that the second megatri was waiting for him to dart between the first’s legs, slid and backpedaled to avoid the stroke aimed at him by the second. The first, feeling the searing pain in his forearms, released his blade and staggered back, roaring in pain. The second, seeing his comrade moving into his swing, tried to pull it up short, but the point of his sword caught the hip of the first, and, although the first was protected by a coat of huge steel rings, beneath the iron breastplate, that fell past his hips, he staggered sideways, tripped, and crashed to the ground. The squads of the Eighth Company on that side scattered to avoid being crushed, but a few of the seklesem dropped their shields and, gripping their swords with both hands, darted forward to hack at the fallen megatri’s now exposed neck; his roar of pain became a gurgle as the huge head was cut from the body, which thrashed on the ground violently, knocking down many seklesem and showering them in the megatri’s fiery red blood. But the kailum were ready for this, and shouts of “kreyakwa,” echoed around the fallen megatri. Jets of water shot from many staves, washing off the blood before it could do more than burn through clothes and blister the skin.
Delgart, as the first megatri staggered and fell, could only leap and roll to his right. The second megatri, not expecting to meet any resistance to his sword stroke, fumbled and dropped his huge blade, staggering to his left. Several of the seklesem on this side of the battle, inspired by Delgart, darted forward swinging swords and slicing at the second megatri’s left leg and the leather straps holding the huge iron leg greave in place. The greave fell down, tangling in the megatri’s great feet, causing him also to fall. The squads on this side of the battle also scattered, darted back, hacked off the head, and were drenched in water, washing off the hot, fiery blood of the second megatri. A shout went up: “Del-gart!” begun by the eighth squad, taken up by the rest of the Eighth Company. But Delgart took no heed; he was running forward, swords whirling, toward the final megatri, largest of the three and the apparent leader of this part of Gar’s forces. The surviving members of the Eighth Company sprinted after Delgart, still chanting his name; Marilee ahead of them all.
The megatri, hearing the shouting behind him, turned to see who was approaching; he saw Delgart and Marilee running ahead of the others and he smiled. Tossing aside the body in his right hand, he held up his left so that all could see who he held. “Hold!” he roared. “I have your Fereghen, wethem!”
All of the Eighth Company halted, save for Delgart and Marilee, who continued to charge forward. The megatri smiled more widely at this, waving his right hand. First Delgart, and then Marilee, crashed into some invisible barrier and bounced backward onto the ground. Delgart got back to his feet, followed immediately by Marilee, and the two walked slowly forward, poking at the invisible barrier with their swords. The sounds of the battle died around them, all eyes turning toward the megatri, who held Fereghen Wothgart in his left hand.
After silence fell, the megatri held out his right hand toward Delgart and Marilee, who stood facing him. “Behold!” his voice boomed, echoing across the battlefield, “those chosen of the One!” The forefinger of the megatri’s right hand made a circling motion, and a whirlwind surrounded Delgart and Marilee, whipping off the bandages both had kept tightly wrapped around their faces, uncovering the ruined half of each’s face. The right hand made a lifting gesture, and both rose into the air, turning and twisting several times before their maimed cheeks were smashed together. Both let out a cry of pain as the two halves of the symbol came together and burned with an angry red light. They floated a dozen feet in the air, spinning slowly so that all still living across the battlefield could see the mark of Gar glowing between their two faces.
“Behold your saviors,” the megatri spat, “marked with the sign of Gar! None can escape the Great Lord’s touch. He will crush all under his feet! Surrender! And I will be merciful,” he finished, grinning evilly.
A hissing whisper filled the silence following the megatri’s demand, traveling quickly across the battlefield and then returning to the Eighth Company of the Third Legion, nearest to the megatri. The captain of the Eighth Company rode forward a little, arm still bound in a sling.
“We will not surrender,” she threw back defiantly. “It is you who are beaten. Release them, and we will spare you.”
The megatri roared with laughter, crushing Wothgart in his left hand and flinging his broken body aside; the Fereghen’s crown fell to the ground in front of the megatri, who crushed it under one of his giant feet. But instead of demoralizing the seklesem around him, his action sparked a flame of fury that rose within the seklesem still living. The First Legion surged forward, cutting down the purem between them and the Fourth Legion; the Second also pushed forward, crushing the purem into the elements of the Third, grinding them into the ground. The rest of the Third, minus the Eighth Company, and the Fourth Legion, both drove forward, cutting down the remaining wedaterem. This left the Eighth Company of the Third Legion to deal with the megatri. The thirty or so maghem and kailum of the squads of the Eighth Company, took the fall of Wothgart and their potikoro, Korowold, personally, and bolts of white lightning and green fire shot at the megatri from all directions, ripping open his armor. Arrows from all the archers followed, sticking the megatri like a pin-cushion. The maghem sent arrows of stone and ice that ripped through the megatri, who fell in pieces scattered across the ground. What caused them the most surprise was that Delgart and Marilee continued to float in the air after the megatri died. A shadow rose from the broken body of the megatri, coalescing into a black-cloaked, hooded figure. The figure laughed a high pitched laugh, sounding like bones clinking together.
“You think you have won,” the figure hissed, “but this is only the first battle, and the Great Lord’s forces are endless. You have defeated only the vanguard of our army. The rest are waiting for you in the pass. You will not come to Shigmar before it is destroyed!” The figure laughed again and changed into a bolt of red fire, flying into the air toward the north. They heard multiple shouts from the p
ass, and the nekerpum held in reserve ground forward.
Chapter 15
Rod making is a most delicate art, depending entirely upon the inherent power and actual experience of the rod maker. The most basic rod, constructed by initiates of our order, is made from the most basic material, clay. . . . The most powerful rods are constructed by the most experienced and powerful maghem from the rarest of all materials, platinum, which legend says comes from the broken body of a platinum aperu, who wrapped herself around the core of our world, preventing its destruction shortly after its formation. . . .
from Annals of Melbarth, Third Series, Early Lectures of the Hierarchs
Lecture by Hierarch Skrifeki, Keeper of Records
Blakstar moved forward to lower the visor on Tevvy’s hood, and saw that the awemi’s eyes had lost their color. His hands faltered.
“Is that you, Klaybear?” Tevvy asked, his head moving toward the sounds.
“I’m here,” Klaybear said in a whisper.
Tevvy’s head turned toward the sound. “I’m afraid,” he stammered, “something has happened to my eyes.”
“You stepped into the brightness without protecting your eyes,” Blakstar said, dully, and he reached out again and lowered the visor on the awemi’s hood.
“I . . . , uh,” Tevvy stuttered again, “I thought you would not need me, so I decided to scout ahead, in case we were pursued by the creatures, so we’d know where to go. When I got to the top of the tunnel, before I could cover my eyes, the light flashed so brightly . . . ,” he hesitated, not wanting to say what happened.
“And now,” Blakstar finished, “you cannot see anything.”
“Can you help me, Klaybear?” Tevvy asked. “Aren’t you kailum able to heal blindness?”
“I’m afraid,” Klaybear sighed, “that it is beyond my ability, although Klare might be able to help you, since she’s better at healing than I am.”
The Redemption, Volume 1 Page 56
