Dawn of the Valiant (The Valerious Chronicles: Book One)

by Julian Saheed

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  Thibalt watched the moon make its way closer to the tree line and tightened his grip on his weapons anxiously. The last minutes had been the longest of his life. His body shivered as a cold droplet of water hit the back of his neck and he tried to stretch out his cramped muscles. Thibalt felt like a different person, as though his body had been taken over by something else; a menacing presence that willed him to let his anger run wild. Every inch of his body pulsed with anticipation and his head was filled only with thoughts of sweet revenge. There was no fear in his heart, only blind hatred and a lust for violence.

  As Thibalt's breathing grew more rapid, Estallion began to fear for his companion. He turned to Errollan and moved as close as he could. Trying to speak as softly as humanly possible he whispered, "Thibalt is entering a state of frenzy. He looks like he is about to go berserk."

  Errollan peered past Estallion and saw the bloodlust in Thibalt's unblinking eyes. He bit his lip, then whispered, "He has battle rage in his eyes." Errollan had seen this behaviour before. The crazed state of mind that certain soldiers had been known to enter in times of great stress was a powerful weapon if used properly, but could just as easily turn into a catastrophe if allowed to run wild. "Try and settle him!"

  Thibalt stared once more at his brother and noticed an assassin walking up to him. The assassin paused for a moment then kicked Christill in the stomach sending him to the floor. Thibalt's eyes flared wide open and he almost pierced his skin gripping the handles of his weapons. Christill defiantly raised his head and spat at the assassins face. The assassin reached to his back and pulled out a barbed black whip. Seconds later the crack of the leather striking Christill's neck rang through the air. Thibalt's emotions erupted in a fury so powerful that he lost control of his mind. He screamed.

  Before Estallion and Harrinus could stop him, Thibalt leapt up to his feet and was charging out of the trees with a roar that echoed through the forest. Estallion jumped up a second later, screaming Thibalt's name, and ran after him towards the Dargonian camp. It took several moments before anyone realised what was happening and by that time Thibalt had already reached the southern wall with Estallion hard on his heels. Errollan, realizing that his was their only chance, jumped up and sounded the charge. The Feldonian soldiers streamed out of the forest, followed soon by the shouts from the Thaldun Blades emerging from their positions to the north and east.

  The Primals in the camp, whom Rhucia had failed to warn, sat stunned for several seconds before they realized what was happening. They then sprang to life and moved for the separate sections of the wall. A howl of frustration filled the air as Novokai came out of his reverie and realised that the Feldonians had managed to gain the element of surprise.

  Thibalt ran straight towards the main gap in the southern wall and soon found crossbow bolts soaring past his ears. He felt a strange sting on his arm and noticed a thin needle sticking through his armour. He felt another sting, this time on the side of his neck but shrugged them away. As he reached the wall a Primal jumped over it towards him with a curved sword held ready to strike. Thibalt swung out with his left hand, knocking the man senseless with his mace before he even landed, and then continued over the wall.

  One of the sentries on the wall raised his crossbow and aimed for Thibalt's back. Estallion spotted the man and quickly fired his own hand crossbow, knocking the man from the wall with a bolt in the neck. He hurried over the gap in the wall and saw that Thibalt was approaching the bulk of the assassins by himself. He said a quick prayer to Skiye and then charged after Thibalt with his sword and dirk drawn.

  Errollan and Ludvic were next to reach the wall and leapt over quickly, avoiding the missile fire from the sentries on higher ground. Harrinus ordered his own men to fire upon the sentries and soon they were off the walls, seeking shelter from the Feldonian crossbows. The remaining soldiers breached the wall and were met by the Primals. The first line of soldiers fell quickly to the assassins swift strikes. But the Feldonians forced the assassins to fight a retreating battle.

  Ludvic swung wildly in the centre of the pack, keeping the assassins at a distance and allowing his archers to pick off the retreating enemies. However he was sent flying backwards as a wave of energy struck the Feldonian soldiers, sending them back against the wall. The brawny Honour Guard sprang up quickly and ducked just in time to avoid a ball of fire sent towards him by Novokai. The fireball struck the wall behind him, engulfing an unfortunate Feldonian soldier and singeing him to ashes.

  Thibalt, who had reached the main group of Primals, had only one thing on his mind, getting to his brother. He ran past assassins who could not believe that Thibalt was storming through the centre of the camp by himself. Several of the Primals' sabres flashed out and caught Thibalt's arms and back as he sped towards his brother, but he did not feel the pain. Those who chose to block his frenzied charge soon found their heads crushed in or cold steel running through their bodies. Thibalt had never fought like this. He struck down every Dargonian that crossed his path with ferociously powerful blows. These were the men who had harmed his little brother, and not one of them would leave this place alive.

  Estallion, not far behind, ducked a wide swipe and stabbed the assassin in the side with his sword. His dirk came up and cut the enemies throat to finish him off. Within seconds, Estallion was heading deeper into the camp after his friend. He noticed that the Thaldun Blades had begun to breach the northern and eastern walls, many using their magic to leap over the barrier, and prayed that they would reach Thibalt and him before they were overcome.

  Then a thunderous blast of energy turned the eastern wall into rubble and through the gap came Mandigal holding a large hilt with a blade of bright blue flames. He spotted Novokai and ran towards him with his hand stretched out.

  Novokai raised his own hands and sent forth a stream of magic. The red rays of energy coiled through the air striking men and inflicting agonizing pain as they headed for Mandigal. Just inches before his body the rays were deflected into the sky by Mandigal's protective barrier. The impact of Novokai's attack halted Mandigal's charge and a nearby assassin came running towards him, trying to press an advantage. He stopped short as a pair of blades struck him in the stomach. The assassin looked down and saw that the two blades were attached to a metal handle and were being held by a tall Karmanian soldier with his black hair tied in five tails.

  Novokai watched as Kilthies removed his weapon from the man's stomach and screamed in frustration. The Primals were dying too quickly. The exhausting trek through the Ranges had weakened them. The Thaldun Blades, who were now well into the camp, were overpowering them with ease. Some Primals fell, not even seeing the Karmanians as they sped past, striking out with deadly blows.

  Novokai sent his hands skyward and formed an immense cloud of energy above his head. Mandigal watched in horror as the powerful invocation came to a close. The cloud returned to ground level at Novokai's command and spread out, seeping into the bodies of the soldiers fighting around him. They fell to the floor as the strong magic tore apart their bodies from the inside and within a moment twelve of the Feldonian soldiers and two of the Thaldun Blades had succumb to the severe magic.

  Kilthies cried out in anger at the sight of his men dying and charged at Novokai. He reached the spiteful disciple and struck out with his double bladed punching dagger. A red shimmer of energy passed in front of Novokai and Kilthies's blow collided heavily with the magical barrier, sending the Karmanian backwards onto the ground. Utith came up from behind Kilthies and swung his massive two handed sword at the magical barrier. The sheer force of Utith's strike sent Novokai backwards, giving Mandigal a chance to catch up to them.

  Nearby, Thibalt stopped in his tracks as two assassins closed in on him. The closest one moved quickly to Thibalt's left and drew a long dagger. The second assassin moved to his right and readied his sabre for an attack. Thibalt recognised the move. The second assassin was going to feign an attack, allowing the man t
o his left to strike Thibalt in the back. He would have to do something unexpected.

  He ran straight at the man to his right, using his body to push the assassin several meters back, and then sent his head forward to break the assassin's nose. This gave him enough time to turn and parry the dagger that was headed for his side.

  Yet the second strike never came as the attacker fell to the floor with an arrow in his chest. Thibalt swung around and watched the Primal with the broken nose fall to a heap as Fliethu's long staff struck out and broke his neck.

  Estallion reached Thibalt and tried to catch his breath. "What in the world is wrong with you? It has been sheer luck that we have survived until now," he gasped.

  "Watch your back and do not rush into battle by yourself!" scolded Fliethu. He then turned and ran off to the aid of Luss who was locked in combat, using her bow to block an attacker's sword.

  Thibalt did not have time to worry about his actions. "We need to save Christill," he pleaded with Estallion.

  Estallion motioned forwards and they moved towards the spot where Christill was bound. When they reached the area, Thibalt spotted the Primal who had whipped Christill. His rage blazed once more and, despite Estallion's calls for him to stop, Thibalt charged off again, headed for Rhucia.

  Ludvic and Errollan caught up to them and created a defensive barrier around the Queen and Christill.

  In the northern half of the camp Mandigal and the Blades had taken care of the Primals facing them. However Novokai's wrath continued to slow their advance as he sent magical attacks in all directions. Mandigal ran to face the last assassin in the area and attacked him with an overhead slice. The Primal moved his sword to deflect the strike but Mandigal's magical blade of energy cut through the weapon and straight into his shoulder. The man fell to the floor and Mandigal sprinted to join Kilthies and Utith who were desperately trying keeping Novokai at bay.

  Novokai spread his hands in an outward arc, sending a ripple through the earth that sent the Blades near him into the air violently. Shards of rock flew from the ground as the earth around Novokai exploded in a forceful eruption. Cries rang out as the Karmanians hit the ground, pierced by the shower of jagged rocks. Novokai knew that this was his last chance to escape before Mandigal and the other Blades could form a unified attack. He glanced over to where the unconscious Queen lay and saw the Honour Guard protecting her. Summoning up his power, he rose into the air and swooped down upon Errollan and Ludvic.

  The Honour Guard's did not look up in time and were struck down by a blast of red lightning sent forth from Novokai's outstretched hand. Errollan and Ludvic screamed as the magic assaulted their bodies. Ludvic managed to peer up to see Novokai pick Triel up and disappear in a surge of red magic. He screamed out to Mandigal who saw Novokai teleport.

  Estallion also heard Ludvic's cry and ran to the Honour Guard's side. Blood streamed from his mouth and his breathing was course and irregular. He found Errollan lying a few meters away in the same state and knew that they would not survive much longer. He jumped up and scanned the battle. The Primals were all but defeated. In the outer parts of the camp the remaining Feldonian soldiers had blocked off any escape routes. He spotted Fliethu and Luss standing over one of their fallen comrades and called out to them. They reached Estallion as fast as they could and quickly began to use Nyrune's magic to heal the Maloreichars wounds.

  In the centre of the camp two assassins were all that remained. One of them was the Primal commander Rhucia. Thibalt approached him and quickly sent his mace flying towards Rhucia's face. The Assassin's curved sword came up and parried Thibalt's attack. In a swift slice the blade came around Thibalt's arm and struck him in the side.

  Thibalt's hand reached for his side and he recoiled, seeing fresh blood oozing from the wound. This assassin was more skilled than he. Rhucia knew that his time was up and had only one thing on his mind. He turned and dashed off towards Christill, who was still bound and unconscious on the floor. Thibalt knew that Rhucia was heading to finish off his brother and bolted after him.

  Mandigal approached Errollan and Ludvic and once he was sure that Fliethu and Luss had the situation under control. He closed his eyes to trace Novokai's direction. Sensing his presence to the north, Mandigal called out to Kilthies who nodded. In a flash they were both where gone.

  Rhucia sprinted up to Christill and found Guard Captain Harrinus in his way. Rhucia ducked low and came up with a deadly swift slash. Harrinus received the blow on his side and fell to his knees in pain. Rhucia then halted at Christill's body and raised his sword to strike a finishing blow.

  Before the blade fell, Thibalt's body struck the Primal commander from behind. They fell to the floor and Thibalt scrambled to action. He struck out with his mace and struck Rhucia's head, felling him instantly. Thibalt's eyes were still aflame and he struck out again and again, spraying blood onto his own face and body. Estallion came up from behind and grabbed Thibalt's hand, bringing a stop to the horrible display.

  "Calm down, Thibalt. It's over!"

  Thibalt heard his friend's voice and forced himself to slow his breathing. He let his weapons fall to the ground and looked down at his hands that were stained red with blood. Around him lay the bodies of the many men who had fallen in the fight. Of the Feldonian soldiers only four remained, and in the savage battle two of the Thaldun Blades, Junn Fielre and Oeroph Niim, had fallen to Novokai's powerful magic.

  Thibalt knew that the death of a Thaldun Blade was an immensely devastating blow to the Karmanians and felt a great sadness in seeing the remaining Blades standing over their fallen brethren. He then realized that in the haze of battle he had forgotten Christill. He jumped up and moved to his brother. Thibalt picked Christill up in his arms and felt tears forming in his eyes as he saw his brother's condition up close.

  Christill's eyes opened slowly and as his vision cleared he regarded the man holding him. He blinked away the cloudiness, then struggled for breath as he saw his brother above him. Thibalt was covered in blood, cuts and scrapes. "Is it really you?" he asked through a lifeless voice.

  Thibalt broke down as Christill stared into his eyes. "Yes, little brother. You are safe. I am going to look after you." Christill smiled and let out a shallow breath. He then closed his eyes and fell into sleep. Thibalt felt a hand on his back.

  "Let me have a look at him, Thibalt," requested Luss.

  Thibalt moved to allow Luss to check Christill's wounds. She raised her hand over his chest and began to let Nyrune's magic flow into his body. After several minutes she removed her hand and smiled. "He will be alright, Thibalt. He will need a great deal of rest though." Thibalt closed his eyes and felt the rage and anger leave his body. He thanked Luss and then sat down next to Christill, holding his head in his lap. "Sleep, little brother. I will get you home."