Warriormage: Book Three of the 'Riothamus' trilogy

by Rosemary Fryth

  “More? I thought we made adequate provision for the defence of Haul West,” snapped Commander Urskar.

  Terdec studied the recently received message carefully, “No, thank Andur; they’ve made no further attempts upon those northern towns. It seems that the small fishing villages and semi-permanent camps to the north of the Titan River have been hit badly.”

  “I assumed that the horsetribes were protecting our north,” fumed Shelden, Commander of the Third Haulgard infantry. “Now we have more reports of raids upon our most remote settlements.”

  “We cannot be everywhere at once,” replied Bowleader Kainne Stormbringer frostily, “The omens demanded we leave our customary winter grazing to take our warriors south to lend you our aid. Do not be deceived by these reports, the northern raids are an irritant only, and furthermore I suspect they are intended to draw our strength away from the main Thakurian thrust here.”

  Taran nodded gravely, “Kainne speaks words of sense. In no way can we afford to further lessen our strength here.”

  “So our remote villages lie undefended,” muttered Shelden.

  “Not entirely undefended, surely you have heard that Commander Helig has taken the Second Helmsgard Cavalry north to lend those settlements their aid,” said Sennar.

  “I still think it is unsupportable that these raids continue so close to the capital of Haulgard,” replied Shelden angrily, “What will the king think when he returns? He will not be happy to learn that the Thakur have been allowed to penetrate so deeply into the province.”

  “Not even the king with his Farsight could have foreseen these northern incursions,” replied Taran, just as angrily. “None of us suspected that the Thakur would attack to the far north. Even now we have no idea how their cavalry managed to come down from the mountains. The last reports given to us by the Transformed Earthmages were that the high passes were entirely blocked by snow, and the that only way in or out of the Trident Range was far to the south near where our own group went in.”

  “Irrespective of how they came in,” stated Taran coldly, “We still have to address the issues that face us here and now. We’ve been fighting constantly for almost three days, and still the Thakur seem to be undiminished in their numbers.”

  “They may be undiminished,” replied Urskar, “But our defenses are holding. There is no way they can break though this new position.”

  “That may be so,” replied Taran, “However, as you well remember, I was never in favour of increasing our defensive line further towards Thakur. This was never talked over with the king, and he gave strict instructions for us to hold the defenses at Mount Solstice.”

  “He did say to strike out further west,” argued Shelden.

  “But only after our job at Solstice was finished,” snapped Sennar abruptly, “I know what was said, I was there!”

  “As were we all,” said Taran quietly.

  “But we all made the decision to take our defensive line further west after the inclusion of the horsetribes. You must remember the conversation at that time,” growled Shelden.

  “It is true that the cavalry needs open space to manoeuvre,” Taran conceded. “But you must admit that our primary function was to act as a bottleneck between Mount Solstice and the forest itself. By moving our defenses further out we have in fact weakened our line considerably, and are having to rely on the mages to further impede the enemy.”

  “The Thakur won’t last much longer,” said Terdec confidently, “Each day they throw away more and more of their troops against our line, and not once have they found a weakness in our defenses.”

  The leaders all nodded at that observation.

  “We will not have the mages tomorrow,” worried Taran. “The Archmage is insistent that they rest for a day. It seems that all of them have so depleted their magepower that they are unable to cast even the simplest spells for our defence.”

  “Have any more Warriormages been found within the Legions and Guard?” asked Sennar. “I know we had at least half a dozen at last count.”

  “Seven have now been found within the Legions,” replied Urskar, “Five within the Guard. This now takes their numbers to a dozen latent Warriormages,” replied Taran, “But don’t count on them Sennar. They are mostly untrained, and the Earthmages have had to take them under their wing to teach them the blocks.”

  “Aye,” Sennar agreed, “We don’t want a repeat of what happened last week!”

  “All those who have been found to be latent Warriormages have been taken off active duty,” replied Druec. “Since that legio went berserk, and killed three of his fellow soldiers, we’ve been very careful in our handling of the Warriormage. Remember how long it took Lord Aran to have any control over the rage. We can’t be counting on the new Warriormages; they are just too untrained and volatile for any real use!”

  Shelden stood and yawned, “Honestly, I doubt very much we will need them. I agree with Terdec that the Thakur are past their strength. Let the mages rest, the Legions will provide our defenses now.”

  *

  With winter’s grip hard upon the plains, and an oppressive, leaden sky promising further heavy snowfalls, the provincial army set about reorganising its defenses for the morning. In expectation of similar attacks echoing what had gone before, the line was again set up, stretching for at least a league running in a generally north/south alignment.

  The leaders were given their positions for the day, with the horsetribes agreeing to hold the southern part of the line, with the infantry Legions massed in the centre, and the Legion cavalry holding the north. Behind them were the untried fyrd, waiting in bored expectation for the long Legion line to break, and for them to finally see some action. The Guard, who were now mostly recovered from wounds gained at the ambush, had been brought back into active duty, and had been stationed behind the main line in order to strengthen the fyrd. For most of the day the Thakur had intermittently tried the strength of the line, but to no avail, the provincial defenses held. By late afternoon the Legions were relaxed and joking to each other as they saw the black armoured Thakurian infantry yet again slogging their way back through the broken ground, after another ill-considered attack on the provincial army.

  “See how they are drawing back,” laughed Shelden, as he watched the weary Thakur stumbling back across their lines. “I wager we’ll have another day of this, and then we can move forward and clean up this rabble…” He glanced at the sky and his smile grew wider, “And it looks as though this damned snow is going to finally let up! Is that a patch of blue sky I see?”

  “Aye, it looks like the weather may be finally clearing,” grinned Druec, then he turned and frowned, listening intently. “Are the Earthmages back? I thought I heard a rumbling, there it goes again. Shelden, did you hear?”

  The infantry Commander shrugged offhandedly “Pay it no heed, most likely the mages speeding the Thakur on their way back to their lines.”

  Druec shook his head, “It can’t be the mages, for they were supposed to be resting today. Besides it seems to be coming from the Thakur lines. By Andur I hope the Thakur aren't bringing out mages against us.”

  Shelden frowned, “We’ve been assured that the Thakur only have one mage, and that she is well back within their borders. No it can’t be magepower, but what is that noise?”

  Druec turned in the direction of the low thunder and stared at the slowly brightening distance.

  “It’s getting louder! Dammit, what is that sound?”

  Shelden stared hard, and finally he saw a great shining mass that was fast bearing down on the provincial lines. It was a mass that soon resolved itself into a great company of heavily armoured cavalry, clad in an unusual mix of ornate steel helmets with red-dyed horsehair plumes, and chainmail and steel lamellar cuirasses, which glittered and shone against the breaking clouds and churned snow. Added to this, was the sight of a forest of fifteen to eighteen foot tall lances held arrogantly aloft, with long triangular red pennants at lance points, the bright cloth
snapping in the freezing wind. The horses too were heavier, stronger than the other Thakurian beasts. All were uniformly dark bay or black in colour, and the sound of their gait was like distant, rumbling thunder against the bloody, broken ground.

  To the waiting and watching Legions, it seemed that this new force was totally at odds with the listless, seemingly beaten ranks of the Thakurian infantry. It was as if a suddenly rising storm front had descended upon the battlefield, a storm front with gale force winds, and lowering clouds, and the ominous rumble of distant thunder. To the watching Legions, it seemed like a cavalry charge out of the annals of history. Indeed it was as if the ancient Serat armies had torn apart the fabric of time, to charge out of the exhausted ranks of the infantry, and carry all before them. In truth, it was as if the heart of the Thakurian nation had at last risen up, and with red pennants snapping from upright lances, had leapt ahead of the faltering body, to spearhead an attack on the very centre of the Free Provincial line.

  The Legion line moved and shook as it realised that its mettle was at last about to be tested, and that for once the mages were not there to provide immediate aid.

  *

  “By the Great Goddess, Druec… Look!”

  “Hell! Where did they come from?” shouted Druec his face immediately paling with fright. “By Andur there are thousands of them. By the Goddess, if the shield wall breaks we are lost.”

  Realising the suddenly rising panic along the Legion lines he belatedly turned to the legio behind him and hoarsely bawled out.

  “Beware all! Hold your lines, heavy attack imminent.”

  *

  The provincial leaders had been gravely mistaken when they thought the Thakur beaten. For days now the Thakurians had been sending their infantry against the long drawn-out defensive line of the Free Province, in a ploy of slowly reducing the mages’ strength; and by dispersing their attacks along the length of the line, stretching out and weakening their enemy’s defenses. Without the Farseeing of the Warriormages, and with the Earthmages fully occupied in the defence of the line, the Provincial army had no reason to suspect that an elite cavalry force had been brought in to attempt to shatter their seemingly impenetrable shield wall. A cavalry force that by its armour and numbers was far and above anything the provincial leaders had seen before.

  Cantering inexorably on, the row upon row of heavy cavalry easily leaped and crossed the narrow, now quiescent fissures of the previous day’s conflict. The iron shod hooves of the horses pounded the snow and broken ground into a muddy slush, and more often than not, trampled into bloody pulp the bodies of their fallen comrades. Along the provincial line, the Legions and Guards waited tense and ready for the expected impact. Each shield had been carefully slotted hard in against its neighbor, and a glance behind saw four rows of similarly hard-held shield walls. Further behind, was the great mass of the civilian fyrd, all nervously clutching ancient family swords, and other improvised weapons.

  As the drumming hooves, and the wall of cavalry drew nearer, the provincial army were further amazed and alarmed at the impressive amour both the riders and their mounts wore, and the fierce discipline that held the mounted force together as a united whole. It was a cavalry force that was displaying unique and disturbing discipline, and wielding weaponry that had been entirely missing from the previously ineffective Thakurian infantry.

  Momentarily the cavalry force slowed, as it reached the Legion lines, then with an awful cry and a lowering of lances, the heavily armoured horsemen pressed hard against the Legion shield wall. For a moment or two it seemed that the shield wall would hold, then almost at the instant where it looked as though the cavalry would be repulsed, one by one individual soldiers found themselves being forced back hard upon the ranks of the other shield walls behind. Suddenly, the pressure became too much and the shield wall broke, and in an instant the Thakur had grasped the advantage, spurring their battle trained horses hard over the broken Legionary ranks. From then on it was a rout, as the highly trained and armoured Thakurian mounts pounded and kicked their way through the milling legios, with their riders thrusting deep with lances and swords into the great mass of undefended, panicked infantry. Far beyond in the enemy lines a great cry went up, and howls and jeers were heard as the exhausted Thakurian infantry finally realised that their cavalry had at last broken through the hated shield wall.

  *

  “Hold hard! Reform the line! Reform the line!”

  The despairing cries of the commanders of the Legions were lost in the constant screaming that issued up from the carnage that marked the once clearly defined shield wall. Everywhere the provincial legio were dying, horribly crushed beneath the bloody bodies of their fellow soldiers, as they fell under the breaking of the shield wall. Others were impaled upon long Thakurian lances, their contorted features showing clear evidence of the horror of their deaths. Still more had been killed instantly, or mortally wounded from the kicks sustained by battle-trained warhorses. Desperately, the as yet undamaged parts of the shield wall moved back to try and mend the break, but they too found themselves fighting for their lives, as more and more of the heavy cavalry pounded deeply into the fractured provincial lines. With the shield wall broken, and the heavy cavalry already deep within the panicking Legions, the Thakur brought forward their supporting cavalry of light lances and horse archers. Finally the remaining infantry, desperately trying to hold hard to their original shield wall, broke and scattered as the heavy cavalry, riding under the arching protection of the hissing arrows, and cross-bow bolts, spurred their horses through the widening break to push further in to slaughter the fleeing men, and strike against the by now wavering ranks of the fyrd.

  It took the considerable training of the Guardsmen not to break when they saw the scattered Legion infantry fleeing the awful carnage. Whilst calling encouragement to the farmers, and freemen of the fyrd at their backs, the Guard held aloft the Andurian banner which caught and uncurled in the rising wind, and confidently stepped forward to meet the Thakurian onslaught.

  Despite their numbers, and the rout behind them, the heavy cavalry’s headlong impetus had finally slowed, and by now the most forward ranks were deep within the provincial lines and caught in a morass of fighting. Some of the legio had already halted their headlong flight to try and regain some degree of discipline, and form organised ranks out of the chaos. Hurriedly the Legion commanders tried to call out instructions to their men, but the rising din made this nigh on impossible, and the battle now churned like an angry sea about the Thakurian cavalry, the fractured Legions, the Guards still holding their line, and the fyrd who to their credit, had resisted breaking only by a supreme effort of will, and by following the example of the hardy Guardsmen.

  The plainsmen holding the southern part of the line had watched the unfolding disaster with mounting anger and trepidation. The instant the order was given for several companies to break formation to provide much needed relief, they howled with enthusiasm, spurring their half-wild horses to the back of the provincial lines, to reinforce the now severely set-upon Guard and fyrd. It was not long before the familiar whistling sounds of the plainsmen’s arrow storms could be heard, their deadly rain effectively preventing more of the heavy cavalry forcing their way through the gaps in the line, and cutting off the forward cavalry from their reinforcements.

  The Legion cavalry in the meantime had not been idle. Committed to the northern line, they too had been forced to hold to their mark, until the order was shouted for a number of the back rows to ride and aid their beleaguered comrades. Coming hard upon the Thakurian flank, the bright swords and battleaxes soon began to cut a way into the enemy cavalry. Despite the protection of the almost impenetrable Thakurian armour, the desperately wielded swords and spears of the provincial soldiers finally began to find gaps in the enemy’s defenses. Soon there were injured Thakurian mounts on the field, some almost disemboweled from gaping belly wounds. With the horses half-mad with pain and fear, the riders had difficulty fighting, and s
ome were thrown to the ground where they were quickly dispatched by the furious provincial soldiers. Adding to this chaotic scene, were the remnants of the Legions trying desperately to regroup their scattered numbers into a cohesive shield wall. However, this last defensive stand had come far too late for the provincial forces. The Thakur had taken full advantage of the gaping breach in the line and their superior numbers were effectively splitting each shield wall as soon as they were hurriedly formed. Finally the arrow storms of the plainsmen halted the Thakurian forward advance, and at long last, the much damaged shield wall was able to reform against further incursions. Behind the provincial line however, the Thakurian spearhead had regrouped and were fighting their way back towards the newly formed shield wall, trying to again weaken the provincial defenses so another break could be made.

  *

  “There are still more of them coming,” gasped out Sennar, as the tides of fighting drew both his and Terdec’s Legions briefly together.

  “How many?”

  Sennar spun his exhausted horse savagely about, “At least eight hundred, mostly light horse archers, but they seem fresh.”

  “What about the heavy cavalry? Are there more?” queried Terdec.

  “Aye, their immediate spearhead seems to have foundered, however there are hundreds more pushing through from behind. There is no way we can win this engagement.”

  “Then we must withdraw!” shouted Terdec.

  “Most of Shelden’s Legion’s been annihilated,” he added, yelling above the din, “Druec’s and Tennar’s men are scattered the length and breadth of the field. Look about you. We’re only just holding this part of the line. If we get another heavy push like the infantry sustained, then we too are lost.”

  The cavalry commander pushed back his helmet, and immediately his face was almost obscured by a sudden stream of blood flowing down from a head wound, gained when his helmet had been previously split at the crown by a well aimed Thakurian mace.