by Owen Black
Avryn then called forth the guard captain Semu from the nearby troops. When the man drew near, Avryn pointed to the narrow tract of land upon which they stood. It was the only way to reach the gate by land since the remainder of the village was encircled by the wide spike-lined pit.
“When they come the horses will charge,” Avryn said. “Your men hold this spot no matter what. Keep them close together and hold out as long as you can. Let the archers pick off anything trying to jump the pit.”
Ever stoic, Semu simply nodded in agreement. The look in his eyes told Avryn everything he needed to hear. Nevertheless, the guard captain then said, “It has been an honor to serve you.”
“I hope you are not resigning now,” Avryn replied with a grin. “Your timing would be most unfortunate.”
Then, catching Avryn by surprise, Semu did a most surprising thing. Instead of a growl or merely turning away at the first sign of humor, his thin lips briefly hinted a smile and, to the shock of all nearby, he laughed. Not a loud, prolonged burst of course, but a short, yet deep and hearty chuckle.
Quickly recovering, the stout guard took one more glance at his king then hastily turned away, anxious to return to his men and prepare them for the imminent assault.
***
The grey overcast sky became dotted with dark shapes as the Avians of both sides took to the air. Although smaller than most other animals, the Avians were fast and elusive and made difficult targets for those on the ground. Their tactics were incredibly complex and required an enormous amount of agility and practice.
In general, when attacking ground opponents they approached their enemy from above, morphed to human form to strike and then retreated back to the sky to prepare for another round. Arial combat was even more difficult and took years of training to truly master.
Composed of mostly hawks and vultures, the birds aligned with the Carnic forces viscously descended upon the large, slow-footed beasts. They targeted the elephants first and morphed into human form just before they landed on the backs of the helpless, lumbering beasts and hacked and stabbed with spears.
Before the attacking flock could turn on the rest of the chargers, Airulli’s aerial soldiers arrived, creating a collage of entangled birds that spewed forth blood and shrieks of pain into the air above the battlefield. The incredible sight captured the attention of the troops on both sides, all except Arodon and his band of Aquans. Focused on the task at hand they continued down the hill, eager to save their dwindling allies.
***
Lightning flashed on the horizon while the clouds lurking above grew darker still. The threatening weather however was of no consequence to Fatalis or Ash. Their attention was on the battlefield where they watched with delight as the strongest of the herbivores toppled to dust. Elephants were a breed Fatalis despised particularly for reasons he could never quite decide, although he wondered if this was related to the dull taste of their flesh. He made note to avoid them when he feasted later that day.
Fatalis watched the spectacular aerial battle unfold above him and he wondered if perhaps the oracle’s habitat was up there, fighting for the freedom of their beloved sage. Their dedication was touching but by nightfall they would all be dead.
“Birds killing one another, definitely not a scene I ever imagined,” Ash said as his eyes focused on a duel taking place hundreds of feet above. “Ours seem to be winning but should we send the rest perhaps?”
“Let them fight it out,” Fatalis roared. “Save the smaller birds for their archers.” He smirked and then continued, “They served their purpose. The bigger cattle are the only ones that can give us trouble. Without them we will overrun the village with ease.”
Ash stepped forward and squinted. A group of soldiers from the village were heading down the hill toward the battlefield. Even from afar something about them seemed out of place.
“Do you see that small group?” he asked while pointing to the unusual soldiers. “I haven’t seen anything like them before. Do you think these might be the ones the coyotes encountered in the woods?”
Fatalis was unimpressed. “Possibly. They look like big ugly cows to me.” He chuckled at his humor then added, “Maybe Avryn has them inbreeding.”
Although Fatalis never admitted concern, he began to grow uneasy as the unusual legion of figures continued down the hill, with each moment their bizarre features growing more clear.
Fatalis looked over his army and detected a slow to the cadence of their drums and a softening of their cheers. He grew enraged when he realized that the strange enemy had captured the attention of his forces. His orders to his generals had been clear. Keep them taunting. Intimidation was a must.
Returning his attention to the unusual adversaries, he focused on the figure in front, most likely their leader, a grey-skinned and chiseled specimen with muscles that would rival his own. Fatalis watched as the brute of a man continued down the hill, unaware of a hawk that approached him from above. The bird sliced through the air with razor-sharp claws outstretched and maneuvered in for a strike.
At the last possible moment the grey-skinned man crouched down and deftly avoided the attack. Then, in the blink of an eye and without the slightest of delay, the strange figure jumped into the air and morphed into a monstrous grey-skinned creature with a massive jaw of countless teeth. It swallowed the bird whole and, before it crashed to the ground, shifted back to a man and looked for his next target.
The drums stopped and the cheers came to an abrupt end. The battleground fell eerily silent.
Consumed by anger, Fatalis then spotted an enormously obese dark skinned figure bounding toward a cluster of several Avians in human form that were finishing off a wounded rhinoceros. One of the men spotted the large enemy approaching and alerted the others who quickly shifted their attention.
Although outnumbered, the large man ran toward them, ignoring their spears and apparently ready to end his gluttonous life. When the group drew near the man began to hop and then, just before impact, he jumped into the air and flung himself toward them, morphing mid-air into the most enormous beast Fatalis had ever seen. It was a gigantic somewhat block-shaped creature covered in a dark bluish colored shiny skin dotted with white splotches and a large flattened tail. The creature slammed into the Avian soldiers, flattening them instantly, then rolled down the hill and came to a stop just before shifting back to human form.
Fatalis was stunned. He did not know from where these strange creatures had come but they had incited his ire and stolen his glorious moment. He vowed to hunt them down and rid the world of their existence. They would pay for aligning with the enemy.
“Did you see that thing?” Ash asked in a voice that quivered with panic.
Fatalis did not reply. He listened to the silence that had overcome his magnificent army and reduced thousands of bloodthirsty mercenaries to cowards.
Ash prodded once more. “Have you ever seen anything like that?”
Fatalis angrily grabbed the assassin by the collar. “Enough whimpering!” he roared. “Send them in. Send them all in.”
***
Spooked by what she had seen, the horse whinnied and lifted its legs, forcing Avryn to quickly brace himself. The animal forms of the Aquans were truly an unbelievable sight.
“Woah girl, it’s ok,” he said before turning to Guderian. “I don’t suppose we have another thousand or so of those on the way?”
“No, afraid not,” Guderian replied. “But there is a whole world of them if you would like to go visit.”
“Perhaps when our little situation here is resolved,” Avryn said with a smile. “It might be a great change of pace. I can only imagine what you saw down there.”
“I haven’t slept well since.”
Avryn chuckled.
Feeling drops fall from above, Guderian held out the palm of his hand and looked to the sky. The threatening clouds began to spit and rain was soon to follow. “Well, at least they should like the rain,” he said.
Avryn
nodded in agreement. “Well, our Aquan friends seem to have quieted the carnivores for now.”
As if on cue, the unsettling howl of a wolf sounded once more, this time noticeably longer. Guderian and Avryn glance at one another nervously.
Seconds later their worst fears came to life when a wave of cheers erupted from the carnivores. Avryn watched in horror as the mass of soldiers started towards Avryndale from all sides. The Aquans had indeed made an impact. An entire army had been unleashed.
Chapter 37
Rain fell upon them at a steady pace and forced Guderian to wipe his eyes while he sat atop his horse in front of the legion of mounted soldiers. Comprised of both archers and swordsmen they sat at attention, ready in the face of death. With each passing moment the carnivore army grew closer and enabled Guderian to make out specific forms within the sea of troops. Some were in human form while others had taken the shape of animals from all parts of their world.
He turned in his saddle and took one last look behind him, one last glimpse of the village he had vowed to defend. Commanded by Semu, the foot soldiers had formed a line across the land bridge in front of the village. The long pikes and spears they held quivered as the ground beneath their feet shook, not from quake or eruption but from the sheer mass of the swarm of death that bore down upon them, drawing closer and closer with each passing moment.
Guderian’s eyes then fell upon Joli who was standing ready atop the gate wall. In her left hand she held her bow while her right hand was clinched in a fist above her head, signaling to the other archers that metal-tipped arrows would be used first.
For a moment he watched her, wondering if he would ever see her face again. He begged her to look his way, just briefly, just one more time before he rode into battle. He sighed when she lowered her fist and drew an arrow from the holder at her feet. Her focus was elsewhere, where it belonged.
Guderian then spotted Avryn as he trotted along the front of the pit, across from a number of villagers that had gathered along the wall. He recognized them as the Metal Runners but he was surprised when he spotted a young girl that was among them and not in the tunnel.
“Alia!” Avryn yelled. When the girl looked up at him he continued, “Find my wife. Tell her to get Thane to the tunnel right away. Tell her to keep him there. You should go too.”
The girl looked confused. “Where is he?” she asked.
Avryn steadied his horse and looked around. He then withdrew a key ring and tossed it to her where it landed at her feet. He waited while she picked it up.
“He’s locked in the cell where we held Mordigal,” Avryn replied. “That’s my key, she has one as well but in case you can’t find her you might need it.”
“You locked him up? How could you?”
“Go!” Avryn yelled.
Alia took off like a thunderbolt, ran past the other villagers and waited as the gate rose before she slipped inside. Avryn watched the massive portal slam shut behind her then he returned to Guderian’s side at the front of the mounted troops.
“Let’s go,” Avryn said.
Guderian nodded then slowly unsheathed the sword strapped to his side and looked down the hill where the Aquans were bracing for attack. Holding the shiny blade aloft, he glanced over his shoulder, took a deep breath and then shouted with all of his might, “Charge!”
***
Drops pelted her wings relentlessly as the owl soared high above the battlefield while she scanned the ground below. From above, the size of the invading force was even more frightening. They were thousands deep on all sides of the village and Trussil knew it would take a miracle for them to survive the onslaught.
Countless streaks of black shot through the air as the archers atop the walls began their volley of arrows. On all sides but the front, the carnivores had already reached the pit and had started to cross. The muddy water that had collected in the trench slowed the carnivores considerably and made them easy targets for the archers. Their numbers were limitless however and when one fell another was right behind, eager to risk death for the taste of blood.
Turning her attention to the front of the village she watched in horror as the horde of carnivores reached the Aquans and crashed into them with a swarm of fury. The creatures from the sea fought hard, shifting back and forth between their spectacular animal forms but she knew that they would not last long against an army of such magnitude.
Behind the Aquans a legion of mounted villagers led by Avryn and Guderian charged down the hill along with Caballus and a score of other unmanned horses. They galloped without concern, seemingly immune to fear. With them the hope of the village rode.
After not spotting Mordigal near the village, Trussil reluctantly climbed higher and moved above the heart of the enemy force. Although her eyesight was remarkable, the carnivores were packed tightly together, with very few open spots in their ranks, leaving her task of finding him almost impossible.
She was amazed at the variety of troops that had been gathered. Most were typical carnivores but some were rare and from the farthest reaches of the world. It was then that she understood the utter hatred that drove the man they followed.
Trussil was startled when a whistle in the wind caught her ears. She instantly recognized the sound and quickly slowed her flight and scanned the air around her. It was too late. The vulture was already on top of her.
A skilled aerial fighter, the hideous bird morphed into a wild-eyed man and, in one quick motion, struck Trussil’s left side with a club. A shooting pain erupted in her wing and was followed by a cascade of feathers that floated into the air. Trussil lost her balance and spiraled toward the ground in an uncontrolled descent.
With a wicked grin on his lips, her attacker fell through the air briefly then morphed back into Avian form and chased after her. Trussil tried desperately to right herself but she knew her wing was broken. The wind rushed past her as she continued to plummet downward bracing for the moment that the vulture would strike and it would be over. Not like this. She did not want to go out like this.
A loud shriek pierced her ears. Fearing the end, she closed her eyes just before sharp, powerful talons gripped her back. Then pain overtook her and her world fell to blackness.
***
Alia struggled to ignore the madness around her, the screams and the pandemonium, the chaotic rush of people that passed her as she continued her desperate search for Felia. She did not have time to be afraid. She had to find Thane’s mother and get him to the tunnel. Relief then struck when a familiar voice call her name.
“Alia!” the woman shouted.
She spun around quickly and spotted Felia running towards her.
“What are you doing up here?” Felia asked. “You should be down below.”
“Avryn told me to find you and Thane and get you both to the tunnel. I can’t believe he locked him up. Did you he did that?”
Felia looked away briefly, clearly disturbed by the question. “What else could we do?”
“So you knew?”
“It was for his own good. You just can’t understand.” When she realized Alia was still not satisfied, Felia wiped the rain from her face and continued, “Come on. Let’s get him out of there.”
Together the women ran through the village, past empty homes and storefronts, past the school and the Great Hall and finally reached the makeshift prison. To their surprise, the guards that had been stationed outside of the tiny cell were gone.
They quickly approached the door to the cell and Alia withdrew the key Avryn had given her. “So much for the guards,” she said before she then pushed aside her wet hair and went to work on the lock.
Felia looked around but the area was deserted. “I’m sure they went to join the battle.”
Suddenly they heard cries coming from inside the cell. Surprised, Alia flinched dropped the key to the muddy ground. She knew right away it was Thane but what they heard were not pleas for help or even coherent demands for release. They were the irrational screams of someo
ne gone mad and were accompanied by the obvious sound of thrashing chains.
“Thane?” Felia called out. She then pounded on the door with her fists while Alia recovered the key then continued to work on the lock. “We’re coming!”
Seconds later the door opened and they rushed into the small room. What the women saw immediately stopped them in their tracks and briefly froze the moment to everything but the rain that dripped to the floor and formed puddles around their feet.
Before them, his hand still chained to the wall, was Thane. He did not acknowledge their presence but only continued to struggle with the shackle attached to his right wrist. He twisted and tugged, screamed and groaned, completely ignoring the blood that trickled down his arm. Although every attempt at breaking free of the chains had clearly failed he nonetheless, as if having lost all understanding of logic and reason, continued to reach out to a small table across the room. He was enraged, overcome by a desire for something out of reach, possessed by a need for the objects sitting atop the table, the two swords given to him by the Aquans.
“Thane!” Felia yelled. She withdrew a key from her pocket and tan to him. “Sweetie, sweetie. It’s us. Calm down. Calm down.”
Her desperate attempts failed to calm the rabid prisoner. Lost in madness he pushed her arms away, sending the key flying from her grasp and tumbling across the room.
Alia stepped between Thane and the swords he so desperately longed for in an effort to capture his attention. It was then that she was able to look upon his eyes, his once beautiful eyes that she so loved but to her horror had somehow turned to glowing spheres of pale blue light, free of all other coloration. He seemed to look right through her, past her rain-soaked clothes and through her beating heart that wanted nothing more than to soothe him. His mind, she then realized, was lost.
“Alia!” Felia cried. “Alia we have to get him out of here.” When the girl did not respond, she repeated her plea, this time holding out the palm of her hand. “We have to get him to the tunnel. Give me your key.”
