Guardians of Magessa (The Birthright Chronicles Book 1)

by Peter Last

  “Since the danger of an attack from the dwarves has been hanging over our heads for some time, I have chosen to take the man at his word. In any case, we will know for certain if there is an attack force when my scouts return; but right now, I am thinking of defensive measures. I do not wish to alarm anyone until we have all of the facts, but if what Tarlex said is correct, the enemy has substantially more men than we do. I have already dispatched messengers to nearby cities, so we can expect reinforcements. In the meantime, however, we need to concern ourselves with defending the city.”

  The five commanders and the general were silent for several seconds after the speech ended, but soon gained their voices and all began to talk at once. The grand admiral called for silence, and the room quieted.

  “General Uriah, what do you have to say?” the grand admiral asked.

  “Well, it seems to me, sir,” Uriah began, “that since we will most likely be heavily outnumbered, we need to take advantage of our defensive position. Indeed, if the attacking army has no siege equipment, though I think they will, we would be able to hold them off indefinitely. I believe we need to take precautions to prevent that siege equipment from reaching the wall. For instance, if we dug a ditch in front of the wall, at least around the gate, it may prevent rams from reaching the gate.”

  “What about you, Commander Pondran?” the grand admiral asked.

  “I think we should have every intention of defending the wall,” Josiah said, “but we also need to take precautions in case it is breached. This stream,” he pointed to the map, “runs down the middle of the city and provides the best chance of defense if we lose the wall. If we destroy the bridge that crosses it, the enemy would be forced to enter the water. If we then pour oil into the stream, we can light it when they try to cross. The fire should kill some of them and hold off the others at least for a while. I also think it would be prudent to set up other defensive structures, either improvised walls or ditches, in order to slow the enemy if they breach our walls.”

  “We also need to secure the buildings,” one of the other commanders spoke up without being called upon. “If the enemy is given the opportunity, they will use the buildings for cover if they should break into the city. Therefore, I suggest that we lock and block the doors of most of the buildings, leaving only a few open for us to use for defensive cover. Choose the buildings so that if we lose them, the enemy can’t use them effectively for cover. That way, if the enemy should drive us back and take up positions in the buildings, we will be able to hit them.”

  “I think that all of these ideas have merit,” the grand admiral said. “Smether and Pakerd, take your men outside the north wall and dig a ditch to protect it. General Uriah will go with you to supervise the work. The rest of you will remain here to talk about other defensive measures. Uriah, send for the captains of these men and have them come here.”

  Uriah left the room to oversee the work and the grand admiral and remaining three commanders turned back to the maps on the desk.

  “If we could do as Commander Pondran suggested with the stream that runs through the middle of the city, it would be a temporary barrier. It could kill a few soldiers, but we’ll need some more substantial barriers, possibly walls and trenches. I think five on either side of the stream will be sufficient. Pondran, take your men and construct the ones on the north of the stream; and Fridle, you take your men and do the same to the south of the stream. Velikogo, you will take your men and do as you suggested, boarding up certain buildings and leaving only a select few open. That’s all for now, gentlemen. May the city hold firm.”

  “May the city hold firm,” the commanders responded and left the room. Josiah met his captains in the hall outside the room, and they fell in behind him as he walked quickly out of the building.

  “Terza,” Josiah said, and his captain came alongside him. “I need the map of the city from my office in the barracks. It’s in the bottom drawer of the desk, on top of everything else. Get it, wake the soldiers, and then meet us at the bridge that crosses the stream in the middle of the city.”

  Terza saluted, spun on his heel, and headed back toward the barracks. Josiah led his company of captains to the bridge. When they reached it, he sat in the middle and waited in silence. His captains, sensing that there was something important afoot, kept quiet as well. It was ten minutes before Terza arrived at the bridge. He had awoken the soldiers, and by now they would be on their way to the bridge.

  “Thank you, Terza,” Josiah said as his captain handed him the map he had requested. He spread it out on the bridge, and his captains gathered around it. “The Grand Admiral has been warned of an imminent attack on the city and has required us to make five makeshift barriers to the north of this stream,” Josiah gestured to the water that ran under the bridge they crouched on. “If each of you has your men create one barrier, we will have five. Each barrier should stretch all the way across the city and prevent the enemy from crossing in one way or another. I don’t care if it’s a wall or a trench or both; I just want the barriers. And by the way, it wouldn’t hurt if there were several stages to each one.” Josiah paused for a moment and drew five lines across the city on his map. “I’ve decided that we will make each barrier at roughly equal distance from each other, so there will be one at each of the lines that I have marked on this map. Each of you choose one and get to work. We only have a few hours until the enemy arrives, so be sure to work quickly.”

  The five captains crossed the bridge to their troops and led them across to the north side. Josiah also crossed to the north side. He wanted to make sure that his soldiers did good work. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them, but this was his first encounter with real-life battle, and he wanted to survive.

  ******

  Senndra's dreams were interspersed with images of dragons, academies, castles, and Josiah. The handsome young cadet who had showed her around the campus had snuck into her dreams. From the moment that she saw him, she had liked him and not just for his looks, though they certainly helped. The way that he carried himself indicated that he had confidence, and the way that he had treated Senndra showed that he was a gentleman. It was something that Senndra would never have admitted to herself, but that she couldn't hide from her subconscious. Even though she had just met him, she liked Josiah Pondran.

  On the other hand, there was also Timothy. The red eyed cadet who had beaten her in the sword fighting competition had also been sneaking into her dreams of late. She appreciated him as a friend and yet, she couldn't help thinking of him in romantic terms as well. He was so handsome with his clean cut features and his eyes. Obviously they were very different than those of anyone else she knew, but something besides their color had captured her attention, something that intrigued her. Timothy was fun to be around and not nearly as much a gentleman as Josiah. That wasn't to say that he was rude, but he lacked many of the niceties that Josiah had. Senndra didn't know if she liked that about him or not.

  Even inside her dream, Senndra chided herself for being such a flake. How much more cliché could she get than liking two boys at once? She liked each of them for who they were and while she could control her thoughts while she was awake, she couldn't stop from comparing them in her dreams. She despised herself for it and yet couldn't help it. This was a matter of her emotions and not something that her brain could control.

  Senndra sat straight up in bed, awakened by the ringing of the campus’s chapel bell. It was still dark outside, and she was reluctant to get out of bed. She knew that the bell was telling of some emergency, so she forced herself to get up. As an afterthought, she grabbed her weapons from the back of the chair and strapped them on before opening her door and stepping into the dorm hall. Cadets had already filled the hall and were heading outside to see what was causing all of the commotion. Senndra glanced down the hall and saw that Timothy was just emerging from his room. His weapons were strapped on his back, and he had a breastplate strapped on over his leather armor. He spotted Senndra and push
ed his way through the crowd to her.

  “You’re going to want your armor,” he shouted above the noise when he had reached her. “The only reason we would be getting up at this time of night is either for a fire or for an attack. I already looked out my window, and there is no fire.”

  “An attack?” Senndra asked. There was concern in her voice, and she already had the door of her room open.

  “We're on the edge of Magessa,” Timothy answered. “That is the reason this city was originally founded, to provide a defense against attacks.”

  Senndra dashed inside her room, closing the door as she entered. She quickly unstrapped her weapons from her back and began to put on her leather armor. A leather shirt and pair of pants were the majority of the armor. Senndra strapped on a pair of leather boots. A metal breastplate covered her torso in the front and back, and a pair of leather gloves completed the outfit. Senndra returned the weapons to her back and exited the room again. By this time, a large number of the cadets had exited the building, leaving only a few stragglers behind. Timothy was waiting for her, and together they headed out of the building and made their way to the chapel.

  By the time they got there, the rest of the cadets from Belvárd were there, and Lemin was standing on the porch. He gestured for the throng to quiet down, and they eventually did.

  “Intelligence of the grand admiral of this academy has reported that a large army of dwarves is headed this way. Reinforcements have been sent for, but they will not arrive until midday while the attacking army will arrive around sunrise. If they gain the city, they will have the upper hand when our reinforcements come; therefore, we need to hold this city until our help arrives. As soldiers of the country of Magessa, it is your duty to fight the enemies of the country and prevent invasion or die trying. We will swell the ranks of the cadets of this academy and fight beside them, giving our lives if necessary to maintain the freedom of Magessa.

  “This group of soldiers is so small that I will be the only one in command. We do not fall under Saddun's chain of command, so you will take your orders from me and the other instructors. With that said, we will dismiss to the north wall of the city. The enemy will be here in about an hour, so prepare for the coming battle.”

  The group of cadets scattered and headed for the northern wall. Some were silent as they walked, while others talked among themselves. They all shared one thing in common—this was their first battle and they were scared spitless. Senndra heard metal rasping on metal and turned to see Timothy draw his sword. He tested the edge on his finger and then slid it back into the scabbard on his back. Senndra started to ask Timothy something, but thought better of it. Instead, she drew her own sword and tested its edge. She had sharpened it right before she had left the academy of Belvárd, and the blade was quite sharp. She slid the weapon back into its scabbard and headed toward the north wall. Timothy followed, and in fifteen minutes they had reached their destination.

  “Do you see Rita?” Senndra asked Timothy as she craned her neck and looked around.

  “Over there,” Timothy said and pointed. “She’s on top of that wall, just at the top of the stairs.”

  Senndra looked and spotted her friend before going to meet her. She pushed her way through the crowd of cadets from both academies until she had reached the stairs that led to the top of the wall. She dashed up the stairs and greeted her friend. They had hardly started to talk, when an officer approached them.

  “Clear the area,” he ordered. Another officer was doing the same at the bottom of the stairs, so Senndra, Rita, and Timothy headed down the wall to a tower that appeared vacant except for a few sentries. Senndra noticed that officers were clearing the areas around the other stairs to the walls of the city and wondered what was happening. As she watched, a group of cadets approached the stairs that she had just ascended and began to tear them apart with picks. Within ten minutes, they had rendered the stairs useless.

  “Brilliant,” Timothy said to himself, but loud enough that Senndra was able to hear. “They’re taking out the stairs so that if the enemy gains the city, they will not be able to get onto the wall.”

  “That may be brilliant,” Rita said as she entered the tower, “but it also shows that the powers that be think there is a pretty good chance that we will lose the city.”

  “That is always a possibility,” Timothy countered.

  “And yet, the stairs to a city wall are rarely removed before a battle. We have a less than average chance of surviving,” Rita answered.

  “Do you think we even have a chance of holding the city, much less preventing the enemy from breaching it?” Timothy asked. “You’re right that we have a less than average chance of surviving. If what I have heard is correct, it isn’t a matter of whether or not the dwarves have as many soldiers as us. The question is what the odds are going to be. Will we be outnumbered five to one or will it be more like ten or twenty to one? One thing is for sure, they’ll outnumber us badly. If we do not use some impeccable tactics, we’ll be crushed before our reinforcements are halfway here.”

  “You’re so cheery,” Senndra muttered. “You don’t have to be so depressing.”

  “It’s only depressing because you know it’s the truth,” Timothy answered. “I myself am not worried about how badly we are outnumbered. We have a strong city, and we are fighting for our homes and country, while they are fighting for nothing but more land. Most important of all, they are not fighting for Elohim, and we are. He will not let His people fall.”

  “Do you ever doubt Elohim?” Rita asked suddenly. “If He is going to protect us, why did He even allow us to fall into this situation?”

  “To answer your first question,” Timothy answered, “I have doubted Elohim for most of my past. It was not until recently that I began to follow Him, but He has always proven Himself faithful. The answer to your second question, I think, is that the people of Magessa have failed to garrison an army in this city as they have done in the past. This may not be against the orders of Elohim, but the action has consequences. I think there is a more important reason, however. My opinion is that the dwarves are acting under orders of Molkekk. I have nothing to back that idea up with, but that is my opinion. We, as the people of Elohim, stand in Molkekk’s way, and he will stop at nothing to crush us. Such is the way of life for a follower of Elohim. There is always someone trying to make life hard for you, even to the extent of exterminating you.

  “But even in the face of this opposition, we still have the upper hand. Elohim will not abandon us, especially to His enemies, and He has the power to save us. To Him, the dwarf army outside of the city is no more than a bothersome fly that He could squish between His thumb and forefinger.”

  “Then why doesn’t He do that?” Rita asked. She was close to tears.

  “You know He doesn’t work like that,” Timothy answered. “He prefers to have His followers fight the battles for Him. He will enable us to complete the tasks that He sets before us, but He wants us to do them so that we might show our love for Him.”

  “There is another not so pleasant reason that we’re in this position,” Senndra spoke up. She had been silent for the entire conversation, but she felt that it was necessary to say what she had in mind. “You said that Elohim’s enemies will always attack us since we are His people. I agree with that, but you also said that He will never allow us to fall into their hands. By saying this, you are forgetting the story of Benjamin when he led the Derekites from the land of Volexa Temp. In the end, they were victorious. But before that, they were in captivity by the enemies of Elohim. I believe that if Magessa turns away from Elohim, He might let our enemies capture us so that we turn back to Him. Besides that, I think the country is about ripe for such a punishment. You have to admit that the people of the country have been slowly turning away from Elohim. Sure, the superficial worship of Him still goes on, but the majority of the country has been turning from Him.”

  “You are right, of course,” Timothy said with a sigh. “I k
now that such a judgment may hit us, but I haven’t wanted to believe that. Now that we are faced with this, I think it may be the judgment that has been a long time in the making.”

  ******

  Josiah surveyed the work that his soldiers had done. He ran his eyes down the entire length of the barrier and nodded his consent. This was the last barrier that he was going to examine, and it was by far the best. It consisted first of a shallow trench that had pointed wooden stakes driven into the bottom. Next, the dirt from the trench had been piled up into a three foot wall that had more pointed stakes on top. Another trench had been dug into the ground directly after the dirt wall, and the bottom of this trench was covered with shards of pottery and other sharp objects. Finally, there was a wall built on the far side of the second trench. This wall was composed partially of dirt but had plenty of bricks, rocks, wood, and other things mixed into it.

  The men had done a good job and had even had time to collect weapons from the armory. These were not the dull practice weapons that they had trained with, but sharp ones, deadly in their purpose and ability. Looking around, Josiah could see that there was a variety of weapons present, each man having retrieved one that he was experienced with. Swords were by far the most common, but spears were also a popular choice. Pikes were also scattered through the company of soldiers, but they were few and far between.

  “It looks good, men,” Josiah said after thoroughly examining the barrier. He had tried as hard as he could to come up with reasons why the barrier wouldn’t hold up, but had not been able to find any. Again he cast his gaze across the barrier and nodded in assent. It would work quite well. Josiah looked east and saw that the sun was just beginning to push above the horizon.