Asgard Awakening 2

by Blaise Corvin

  He moved closer to Hravalin and muttered, “My job is to help you get the Royal tree, but don’t ever forget what a pain in the ass this trial was. You’re going to owe me for this.”

  Hravalin nodded in agreement, but was obviously distracted as she stared at Yaakova in the sky. “How is she doing that?”

  “If you think that’s good, you should see my transformation,” said Narnaste. She grinned.

  "I already have."

  "Oh yeah." Narnaste frowned. "You haven't seen me run, though."

  Trav said, “Hold off for now, Narn. But yes, I have a feeling that our enemies aren’t going to be very happy about some of the surprises we will have for them.”

  Hravalin narrowed her eyes. “Not for the first time, I am very glad that you are on my side.”

  Chapter 22

  The Veil-overlap had cycles, but the place was so depressing, it still felt like the days never ended. There were cycles, though, so Trav knew it was a day later that he received a message from Yaakova that a group was approaching. She winged her way back, landed and transformed so they wouldn’t waste her communication device’s power. Trav was waiting with Bravoosa, Hravalin, and Narnaste. Ysintrill was behind their group, working to mask their trail from the group’s wandering, but she’d be back shortly.

  Yaakova said, “New One, there is a group of harpies approaching fast.”

  “How many? Do you know if it’s any of the other Guides?”

  “About a company and a half, maybe sixty, and no, not that I could tell. They are all mounted.”

  Trav nodded. “Bravoosa, I want everyone in that formation of rocks over there.” He pointed to the side. “If it is not an accident this group found us, and we will assume it wasn’t, they’ll come for us. There is a gap between the rocks on the back side large enough for the horses. I want everyone set up with the horses protected.” Trav turned to Hravalin. “Any problem with that?”

  “No. And I thought I made it clear that you are the leader for this excursion. If I have a problem with any of your orders, I will say so.”

  Trav nodded and tapped Bravoosa on the shoulder as she was turning. “One more thing, Captain. Remind the soldiers about their gifts and any magic they might use. They can’t get back their energy in this place.”

  The captain saluted and ran to issue orders. A few minutes later, the entire company was mounted and moving to the rocks Trav had indicated.

  This is a good place to make a stand, he thought.

  A half hour later, the unknown harpies’ dust cloud could be seen, and only a few minutes after that, the riders barely came into view. Trav counted and verified that Yaakova’s numbers estimate had been right on the mark.

  “Everyone stay loose!” he yelled.

  As he stepped forward, Yaakova hissed and said, “You should not be going alone, New One.”

  “Yes I should. I can Shadowwalk back.”

  “No, I agree with Yaakova. You are too important, Chief,” Ysintrill disagreed. “The Pinions can’t get their energy back, but we can, just like you. You should send us.”

  Narnaste nodded. “I can get big.”

  Trav shook his head. “You just need to trust me on this.” He began walking again, not waiting for agreement.

  He stopped at about one hundred yards away, and when the unknown riders saw him, they slowed down and came to a halt about another hundred yards away, out of bow range from the rocks. Smart, he thought. Average Kin bow range was about the same as human bow range most of the time, they just used bigger, heavier arrows than humans had on Earth. Kin arrows hit with authority, even at long range.

  A group of three harpies dismounted and walked forward, scanning the area. When they’d almost reached Trav, he could tell by their body language that they’d seen some of his group in the rocks behind him. Oh well, he thought. They’re probably already tracking us somehow.

  The lead harpy grimaced. “The Human is here. Where is the Guide, Human?”

  Trav didn’t move, just looked the harpy directly in the eye. “You are either very brave, very stupid, or you’re bluffing. Before coming to this place, I publicly killed a harpy warrior. She attacked me, and the Elders were in a hurry, and I did nothing wrong, but I am sure many watchers were not happy about it. Even if you weren’t there, you should have heard about it.”

  The leader scoffed, “That was a piss-drinking South tribe nobody. North tribe harpies would not be so easily taken by a human.”

  So it’s going to be like that, Trav thought. Part of him was glad—stupid enemies were the best enemies. He said, “You have come for Hravalin?”

  “Obviously. The fact she sent out the human to talk instead of one of her warriors, or herself shows how weak she truly is.” The leader laughed.

  One of the other harpies smiled and said, “You were right, Ycitte. There was no need to wait for the others.”

  “Obviously. We don’t need to share this. You know the East tribe. All the rumors are just hype. Even this human killing that Southern tribe whelp was probably a trick.”

  Wow. They are really, really stupid, Trav thought. He’d figured out what was going on, and remembered how for all their physical power, Kin could be very simple. He couldn’t imagine a human commander casually giving away so much information upon meeting an enemy. It took him a moment to figure out how to act, but if the rest of the soldiers were as dumb as their leaders, they’d likely also be living in a world of denial and arrogance.

  The three Kin were relaxed. Even though they knew Trav had killed a harpy, he was still just a human, and there were three of them. Really stupid, he thought, then acted.

  Lightning fast, Trav pivoted and thrust Shatter’s point directly at the nearest harpy’s chest. It seemed his enemies’ relaxed posture had been an act, though, because she turned just in time for the blade to buzz across her armor instead of skewering her.

  The lead harpy, Ycitte, moved like a coiled spring, drawing and cutting with her sword in a flash. Trav already had Hex out and barely said, “Shield,” in time to stop the blade. A pale, glowing barrier of energy projected from Trav’s fist, centered on Hex.

  He pivoted, ducked, and thrust again with his spear, catching the third Harpy in the throat. She went down, but the other two were already bounding back towards their fellows. Trav pointed Hex and snarled, “Napalm Fireball!” A meteor of fiery destruction screamed forward and slammed into the first harpy he’d attacked, blowing her off her feet and setting her on fire. She rolled around and screamed as she was consumed.

  “Fuck,” Trav growled. He Shadowwalked back and his eyes widened as at least twenty arrows peppered the ground where he’d just been standing. Some of the shafts were glowing, either enchanted or magicked somehow. He suddenly realized that the three harpies coming out to talk first had likely been a trap for either him or Hravalin. Maybe they’re not entirely stupid, he grudgingly thought.

  One more Shadowwalk brought him back to the ends of the rocks. “Ready the line!” he shouted. “Belchers formation!”

  “Ready the line! Belchers formation!” repeated Bravoosa.

  Trav turned to Ysintrill. “Trill, get ready with the flankers.”

  “Yes, Chief.” The spirit woman ran to link up with ten elite, lightly armored scouts. They would stay in the rear, watching their own flanks before being given the order to advance.

  The rock formation the Pinions were hidden in would stop any charging horses, but the enemy horses themselves were not what Trav was worried about. As the entire enemy company thundered towards them, he called, “Belchers, steady!”

  “Belchers ready!” yelled the team leader.

  He turned and ordered, “Archers ready!”

  “Archers ready!” acknowledge Bravoosa.

  “Mages ready!” he called.

  Hravalin answered, “Ready.” The guide had been training with the Pinions.

  Next, Trav used Hex to amplify his voice so all the Pinions would hear his commands. He watched the enemy hors
es and grinned. They wouldn’t want to sacrifice their mounts, not in this dead place, so they’d likely come in a lot slower than they would have liked. When the enemy jumped from their saddles, he knew it was time.

  Harpy cavalry could function as human cavalry used to in Earth’s past, but they really didn’t like to fight that way. Despite being so strong, harpies were lighter than humans. They also had wings, wings that helped them jump right over a defensive line.

  Trav had read up on harpy warfare, and fights were often won by which side could adjust the fastest, since enemies could jump from horseback to glide behind defenses. That strategy would not work today, though.

  “Belchers, fire!” yelled Trav.

  Immediately, the front rank of the Pinions raised their gigantic wands and unleashed hell. Each of the magic weapons, created by Trav, basically functioned as a powerful flamethrower. A side benefit of the fact that they ran on emberstones meant his Kin fighters could conserve their own powers. The four mages standing in the rear with Hravalin could unleash incredible destruction, but right now were being held in reserve.

  Each Belcher was in perfect position, and had practiced enough to barely overlap her cone of fire with the soldier on her left and her right, so there’d be no gaps, and they could cover the maximum area possible. Twelve Belchers would be more than enough for this battle.

  North tribe harpies shrieked as their feathers burned and they sank from the sky. If they’d been moving at full speed, they likely would have still crossed the Pinions’ front line, but they hadn’t. Their horses had slowed further so they wouldn’t crash on the rocks, and the falling harpies actually collided with their own mounts. Terrified horses trampled their masters. Meanwhile, the Pinion Belchers were well-trained, and kept their streams of flame pointed upward, bringing down and burning the attacking enemy.

  “Archers, bombs!” ordered Trav. Almost immediately, twelve big, black grenades went sailing up and over the enemy soldiers. Powered by superhumanly strong throwing arms, each bomb flew exactly where they needed to go. Trav’s archers had been practicing throwing rocks the same weight as their bombs for an hour a day, every day for a week.

  Three seconds after the bombs landed, they exploded, but rather than expanding gas and shrapnel, each deadly missile released a spell that Trav had inscribed as a rune equation, powered by a small chunk of emberstone.

  Angry whips of deadly black magic buzzed through the burning North tribe troops like a razor-edged weed whacker. The buzz saws of energy spun for a full five seconds. After that, ominously, most of the screaming stopped.

  Trav wasn’t taking any chances. “Flankers, go!”

  Ysintrill led her harpy soldiers to the side, then they all activated the special boots Trav had made for them. They rocketed fifty feet straight up before gliding forward at an angle. While up in the air, Ysintrill turned into a shadow, allowing her to glide just like the harpies, and all the scouts began making skilled, precise shots with their enhanced horse bows.

  Harpy archers were already good, and Kin in general had powerful bows, but Trav had made the Pinions’ bows two to three times more powerful than their bows had been before. In a hectic battle, the Flankers would have been able to jet right back up and return if they’d needed to, but this time it wasn’t needed. “Chief, I think you can advance,” came Ysintrill’s voice in his ear. He’d given her a communication device similar to Yaakova’s.

  “Advance!” ordered Trav. “Secure the horses!”

  To the side, Narnaste seemed half relieved, and half disappointed as she said, “You didn’t even need me.”

  Trav put a hand around her hips for a quick hug before releasing her. “I’m glad. You are our secret weapon. If you have to transform, it means we’re in deep shit.”

  The Belchers had transitioned to standard spears and shields, their flame belchers slung. All the Pinions had three weapons now that they could transition between. Bravoosa’s soldiers were incredibly well kitted, and extremely versatile for such a small force. The Captain herself found Trav and saluted. “No casualties yet, Commander. The battle isn’t over, but it is won. It looks like we’ll recover around ten healthy horses.”

  “Go tell Hravalin,” ordered Trav. He moved forward, watching as the Belchers carefully advanced among their burned enemies, shields forward, stabbing each corpse to make sure they were down. Some of the North tribe soldiers had been moaning, or crying. They were quiet after the Belchers passed.

  Trav saw one enemy soldier struggling, pushing herself up on one elbow, that arm ending in a stump. She held a sword in her other hand. “Wait, Belcher,” Trav ordered, and the Pinion in front of him stopped. He walked past her, standing out of range of the downed enemy’s sword.

  “Ycitte, right? That’s your name?”

  The enemy leader glared and tried to spit at him, but nothing came out. She was badly burned from head to toe, and it looked like she was missing both feet. Trav was amazed she was still alive.

  Conversationally, he said, “You know, a few years ago, I would have felt bad for you. This would have been the worst thing I’ve ever seen. Then I came to Asgard, and I realized how pleasant and peaceful my life had really been. As a slave, I saw things that would make horror movie fans puke.

  “You know what else? I’ve learned some things about the North tribe. I’ve learned how you treat your slaves, and why Yaakova’s father has never been to the North tribe. He’s valuable, and the East tribe won’t let you take him, because they know they wouldn’t get him back, at least not in one piece.”

  Trav shook his head. “A few months ago, I’d be angry right now. Furious, actually. Now...I’m just sad. See, now I don’t think it has to be like this. You—”

  Ycitte screamed in defiance, lunging forward as best as she could, her blade aimed for Trav’s leg.

  Unfortunately for the wounded harpy, Trav’s reaction time and strength made it a simple matter for him to block the clumsy attack with his spear. Then with a quick, but powerful kick, he broke her elbow and pinned her hand to the ground as she screeched in pain. Trav could feel the Pinions’ eyes on him from behind.

  He sighed, and his eyes grew cold like ice as he said, “So be it, then.” His Restless mantle felt cold too. “Die on this dead, foreign world, and know that you have accomplished nothing.” Ycitte looked in his eye and shivered, starting from her head and eventually her entire body. Trav reversed his spear and spit as he skewered his enemy’s heart.

  He turned and addressed the Pinions who were watching through the rising smoke. “We will win this challenge for Hravalin, against the other Guides, and any other murderous fucks out there. These assassins had no honor in attacking us, so they will also die with no honor.” He pulled something that Odin might say from his memories. “The weak should know their place.”

  The Pinions stared for a full second before raising their weapons in the air, screeching in primal fury. Trav felt something savage stir in his heart. Arming his Kin allies with flamethrowers had been one of his better ideas.

  Chapter 23

  “Master, I don’t know how much of this I can take. I need to rest, but the longer we’re here, the harder it is to get any real sleep,” Narnaste said.

  Trav nodded. His group had been in the Veil-overlap for over three days now, and even with him and his valkyries doing most of the heavy lifting, everyone was dragging. The group had been slaughtering and eating the horses they’d captured every night in order to conserve rations, and Trav had been able to use rune magic to draw water and to purify it, but the dead world was taking a toll. The harpies were all slowly but surely losing their energy. It was different than going to another Veil where they’d lose strength. Instead, they just couldn’t quite recoup what they lost.

  Other than minor injuries and the stress of combat, Trav felt fine. Since his energy was recharging, he’d been using rune magic to revitalize the horses, but there was a limit to how many times he could do this. It kept costing him more energy, too. The an
imals were loyal and strong, but they’d begin faltering soon too.

  “Yaakova is coming back, I can see her,” said Trav. “Hopefully she found something.” He squeezed Narnaste’s shoulder and moved back to the rear of the company where Bravoosa was checking someone’s gear.

  So far, five harpies from the Pinions had died, including two of Trav’s favorite scouts. Hailya had been killed yesterday, torn apart by magical fire. The loss of five soldiers was sad, but his group had still actually been lucky so far. Over one hundred and forty enemy harpies had attacked yesterday. All the groups of harpies coming after Hravalin had banded up and hit them at once. Trav had to hope that no more were coming, but he wasn’t going to bet on it.

  With a gust of wind that kicked up the musty dust on the ground, Yaakova landed. Her expression was hard to decipher, and she said, “New One, I think I found something.”

  “Oh? What is it? Should the company head there?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Yaakova shook her head. “I found a structure, but it’s on the side of a hill, and it’s a long distance from here going in a direction that is really hilly. It’s probably dangerous, but maybe you could ride Narnaste there.”

  Trav frowned. “A structure? We haven’t seen any structures other than random ruins in three days. Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I got close, but per your instructions, I didn’t land.”

  “I see.” Trav scratched his chin and said, “Let me try something.” He summoned Hex and lightly traced a simple rune equation on his forehead. He didn’t cut the skin, and the process didn’t hurt since it was meant to be temporary. Then he motioned Yaakova closer and she narrowed her eyes at him, but hesitantly approached. “It won’t hurt,” Trav said.

  After he’d put the faintly glowing lines of the rune equation on Yaakova’s forehead, he said, “Think of what you saw. Hold the memory in your mind as clearly as you can, and then touch your forehead to mine.” Yaakova gave him a look, but she slowly did as he’d said.