Mage-Guard of Hamor

by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

  Rahl looked around, because he had seen no archers, before he realized that the shafts had come from the north, and that Taryl had placed the archers below the steeper part of the ridge, out of sight of the rebels. That didn’t keep them from arcing the shafts up over the ridge toward an unseen target.

  A series of wide chaos-flares appeared in the air just beyond the earthworks, incinerating most of the shafts, although Rahl could sense the chaos-tinged iron arrowheads falling like dark hail. More shafts lifted and in turn were incinerated. A third volley suffered the same fate.

  The troopers of the two lead battalions of Third Regiment were almost at the earthworks, when a line of chaos-bolts wiped out close to two entire companies, and the massive waves of death rolled downhill and through Rahl, chilling him deep inside.

  The chaos-bolts had done more than kill those troopers they had struck, because the loose chaos-fire also ignited the thick-shafted fire arrows that had previously fallen short of the earth-and-stone ramparts, as well as several sticky-oil bladders that had not previously ignited. More Imperial troopers and their mounts died a fiery death.

  Gray-and-black smoke rose from all around the earthworks, slowly roiling downhill toward Third Company, burning eyes and throats alike, and carrying a sickening odor of roasted flesh. Defenders poured over the earthworks, many bearing falchionas and hacking at disabled and burned or blinded troopers. The troopers in the companies following swept in at an angle, cutting down the defenders on foot.

  A scattered volley of arrows tore into Third Regiment, and more firebolts ripped into the battalions leading the assault.

  A trumpet recall echoed uphill, and Third Regiment withdrew, leaving an expanse of blackened ground and stone before the defenders’ earthworks, where the charred forms of men and mounts lay strewn. Yet all those dead forms represented but a fraction of those killed, Rahl knew, because the chaos-fire left no corpses, only blackened ground and ashes.

  Rahl could sense a welter of death behind the ramparts as well as he watched Third Regiment return to lower ground and re-form. Was the use of Third Regiment for such a punishing part of the attack because Commander Hyksyn had been relieved? The former commander had certainly been right about the cost to his former regiment. Or would they all suffer that much before it was all over?

  “Do you know what we’re standing by for?” asked Drakeyt.

  “No. I’d guess that we’re going to be part of the final assault—or the overcommander’s rear guard if the attack fails.”

  “I’m not certain which I’d prefer less.” Drakeyt’s voice was low and dry.

  Rahl studied the ramparts. Whether from the engineers’ work, the continued assaults, or even the chaos of the defenders’ mages, the stone work of the upper levels had been destroyed or tumbled in a score of places, and he could see the defenders trying to lift stones back into place.

  Rahl glanced up through the smoky haze. The sun was past midmorning and headed toward noon.

  The trumpet ordered another attack, and Third Regiment started riding back up the slope.

  Another flight of arrows arced into the defenders, but those shafts were far fewer, far fewer indeed. Even so, more firebolts slashed down toward the half-concealed archers on the rugged north slope. While most missed, a few did strike, assuring that the next volley would have even fewer shafts coming down at the rebels.

  Rahl became aware of something, moving closer, but he could see nothing. Why couldn’t he see or sense anything but a vague sense? Shields and sight shields! He’d have wagered that a strong chaos-mage was shielding a force coming around from the south for a strike at Taryl and the Triads. “There’s a mage-hidden side attack coming,” he snapped at Drakeyt. “Have the company mount up.”

  “Third Company, mount up and form up! On the double!”

  “Form up on the double!” echoed Quelsyn.

  Belatedly, Rahl realized he needed to mount the gelding. He scrambled into the saddle, then tried to get a better idea of where the rebel mage was. Even with the additional height from being mounted, he was having trouble locating the other mage.

  He kept looking where he thought the attacking force might be…and saw nothing, except he could feel his eyes almost skip at one point. He looked back there. He still saw nothing except a more rugged slope with scraggly vines and thornbushes that looked almost like dwarf olives. He watched as a fragment of smoke drifted down and westward from the high ground where chaos-bolts continued to arch into the troopers of Third Regiment as they advanced toward the earthworks once more. Rahl continued to watch the smoke until it rose in an arc.

  That had to be it.

  Rahl turned the gelding and rode toward the right end of the company. “Third Company! On me!”

  “On the majer!”

  Rahl had only ridden a hundred cubits or so—just off the flatter grass and into the rougher ground flanking it—when the sight shield vanished. Rahl and Third Company were facing two companies, if not more, but a ragtag two companies, with lancers in the front ranks and troopers behind.

  “Charge them!” ordered someone.

  The lancers aimed the shimmering polished lances and spurred their mounts forward on the rugged ground. One mount slipped, but regained its footing. Rahl felt that the lances were all aimed at him, and he began to ready himself to extend his shields when a firebolt flared toward him.

  He deflected the chaos down into the path in front of the lancers, causing one to slam into the lancer next to him. The other lancer and his mount could not avoid the chaos and flared up into a column of flame that subsided to gray ashes.

  When the second firebolt flashed toward Rahl, he was ready, and cast it back toward the white wizard in the middle of the lead company. While the wizard’s shields held, the chaos splashed around him, taking out another rebel lancer.

  Rahl had managed to get out his riding truncheon just before the first line of lancers neared Third Company.

  In the moment before their lances would have struck, Rahl extended his shields, this time anchoring them to the ground. All but one of the front line of lancers pitched from their mounts, and several mounts went down as well. Rahl immediately contracted his shields, then rode past a fallen lancer and toward the next rebel, who did not manage to level his lance before Rahl swept past it and struck with the long riding truncheon. The lancer reeled and dropped his lance, then toppled out of the saddle.

  Beyond the second lancer were regular mounted troopers, with their sabres out. Using the gelding’s weight and motion, Rahl disarmed the nearest by breaking a wrist.

  With rebel troopers surrounding him, Rahl just concentrated on holding on to his truncheon and inflicting damage upon as many rebels as possible.

  Whssst! A firebolt flared against his shields, followed by a second one.

  He turned the gelding to face the white wizard, conscious that, of the two rebels who had been attacking him, one was horribly burned and the other was backing away.

  A narrow chaos-lance slashed toward Rahl, and he let it slide off his shields, even while he tried to figure out how to turn the chaos against the white wizard. The greenish blue tip of a second chaos-lance pressed into his shields. Rahl contracted his shields ever so slightly, then expanded them to fling the chaos back at the wizard. The greenish blue point flared into a brilliant white that cascaded across the wizard’s shields, destroying the two rebel troopers behind and flanking the wizard.

  Although the wizard remained untouched, Rahl could sense both anger and desperation, and he urged the gelding forward, toward the thin-faced and long-haired white wizard. Rahl leaned forward, gathering order around and within the riding truncheon.

  Whssst! The firebolt was aimed at the gelding’s legs, but Rahl caught it with his shields and hurled the chaos back at the white wizard, now alone on his mount, as the others in the rebel companies struggled to escape the energies created by the fight between mages. The wizard’s shields shivered under the impact but held.

  Rahl str
uck those shields with the order-reinforced truncheon, and chaos flared, lines of fire streaking in all directions as the white wizard’s shields disintegrated. With the next move of the truncheon, Rahl managed a short slash up at the wizard’s right arm.

  The wizard opened her mouth—and Rahl understood that he had been fighting a woman just as the order and chaos exploded, giving her figure an incandescence that lasted but a moment before a whirlwind of ashes whipped around Rahl and the lancers. Stars flashed before Rahl’s eyes from that burst of brilliance, and it was several moments before he could see clearly. When he could, he and Third Company held the area. The remaining rebels were riding back to the east, and Rahl had the feeling that many would not be trying to return to the rebel lines.

  “Back to position!” ordered Drakeyt.

  As Third Company re-formed and turned, Rahl rode toward Drakeyt. Just as he neared the captain, a massive chaos-bolt flew toward him—and it had come from the west. Rahl managed to extend his shields just enough to slide the fiery mass of chaos more to the rugged southern side of the hill. It struck, and a massive column of flame surged skyward, then subsided.

  “That was close,” said Drakeyt.

  “Closer than I would have liked,” Rahl replied. Had that been an accident, with one of the Triads reacting late to the attack? Or had it been an attempt to get at Rahl and Third Company? Whichever it might have been, Rahl didn’t relish having to watch for chaos from all directions. But then, did he have any choice?

  During the time that Third Company had been fighting off the two companies attempting to reach the headquarters area, another regiment had joined Third Regiment on the slopes below the earthworks. The troopers were already pouring through and over the weaker spots in the defenses, and slowly pressing back the defenders. Rahl thought that someone in charge had realized that the sooner the Imperial forces were locked in combat with the rebels, the less effective firebolts and archers could be. But then, Taryl had probably known that all along. It just took time and enough weakening of the defenses before that tactic could be implemented.

  Just as Rahl thought that, a firebolt arced down from high on the ridge, smashing down into one of the gaps in the earthworks through which and over which Imperial troopers were attacking, pushing back defenders. The chaos fire-storm cleared the gap, incinerating Imperials and rebels alike, and leaving swirling ashes and blackened stone and earth.

  The gap did not remain clear for long as another squad of troopers charged uphill and through the space, unimpeded by defenders until they were a good ten cubits uphill of the earthworks. As the Imperial forces pressed uphill, firebolts continued to fall into the individual melees, flaming Imperials and rebels alike.

  Rahl had never seen so many chaos-bolts in one place and time. Were Golyat’s mages so desperate that they had no choice but to kill their own troopers in their efforts to slow or reverse the Imperial attacks? The desperation suggested that Commander Muyr’s forces had not made similar headway on the south side. But had Muyr even attacked, or was the role of his forces merely to hold and keep the rebels from escaping? Since Rahl had not heard the entire briefing because he’d had to deal with Commander Hyksyn, he had no idea.

  What he did know was that it was now midafternoon, and the ridge was wreathed in smoke and the stench of burned flesh, and that the approach slope to the rebel earthworks was littered with the bodies of men and mounts.

  An undercaptain rode toward Rahl and Drakeyt, reining up. “Sers…the overcommander requests that, as soon as the Second and Third Regiments clear the earthworks, Third Company move forward on the flank as far uphill as possible without being in the front rank of combat.”

  “Third Company hears and will obey,” snapped Drakeyt.

  The undercaptain looked to Rahl.

  “You heard Captain Drakeyt. Tell the overcommander his orders are being carried out.”

  “Yes, ser.”

  Drakeyt turned in the saddle. “Third Company! Forward!” Once they were headed up the slope, he looked to Rahl. “Thank you, Majer.”

  “You’re in command,” Rahl pointed out.

  “Mostly.” Drakeyt laughed.

  The brief conversation brought home to Rahl how comparatively few words were exchanged in the course of a battle. With a shake of his head, he went back to scanning the battlefield for possible uses of chaos against him and Third Company, but the nearest concentrations of chaos were those near the center of the ridge, still a third of a kay or more to the southeast, and those of the two Triads.

  He frowned. The Triads were moving. He glanced back over his shoulder. Although it was difficult to determine, he could see and sense that the entire headquarters force was following Third Company, including the Triads, and presumably Taryl. Was Deybri among them? He knew she’d accompanied Taryl earlier. He hoped she remained well in the rear. Although she had training with a staff, as did all healers from Recluce, he didn’t know whether she’d kept up with it—or even if she had a staff with her.

  He forced himself to concentrate on the swirling eddies of rebels trying to hold back the advancing Imperial forces. There was something about the pattern of those forces, and there should have been more defenders, rather than a thin line of rebel troopers giving ground, almost as if to delay while a counterattack of some sort was being developed. Yet with all the swirling chaos, and the chill rushes of widespread death, Rahl was having trouble seeing where or what that counterattack might be.

  “We need to get on top of the ridge now! Something’s about to happen!”

  “Third Company! Forward on me!” ordered Drakeyt, urging his mount into what Rahl thought was a slow canter.

  What with trying to ride over and around bodies, with acrid smoke still swirling everywhere, and with the gelding nearly stumbling and lurching as he went over and through one of the gaps in the earthworks, Rahl couldn’t concentrate on sensing and seeking what bothered him. He had to concentrate on riding, and being ready to defend himself in the case of a rebel attack.

  Whhhstt! A small firebolt flared seemingly from nowhere toward Rahl and Drakeyt and the lead riders of Third Company. While hanging on to his seat on the rougher ground above the earthworks, Rahl managed to deflect it into the ground ahead of them because he could see no rebels nearby where he could have redirected the chaos-flame to help the Imperial advance.

  Whhsstt! Another chaos-bolt followed the first.

  Again Rahl deflected it, although that took more care because Third Company was nearing the rear ranks of Second Regiment. At least, he thought the troopers he saw just ahead were bringing up the rear of Second Regiment.

  When the third firebolt came his way, and he had not seen or sensed any others being sent forth from the rebel side, he deflected it and made a greater effort to tighten his shields. He waited for a fourth chaos-bolt, but none came, not then, at least.

  When he extended his order-senses farther behind Third Company, Rahl could pick up the feeling of the two Triads, but not of Taryl. He nodded.

  The rebels fighting off the two Imperial regiments were still giving way, but Rahl could see that the bulk of the rebel forces had regrouped in front of the unbreached earthworks on the southeastern end of the long ridge, hurrying past the stone redoubt that still held hints of chaos and chaos-mages—but there were no troopers stationed outside the roofless redoubt, set as it was near the back side of the ridge.

  “Drakeyt! Send a trooper back to the overcommander! The rebels are massing at the earthworks to the east, but all the mages are in the redoubt on the back side of the ridge up ahead.”

  Drakeyt turned as he rode. “Alrydd! Take a message to the overcommander! It’s urgent! Tell him the rebels are massing…”

  Alrydd repeated the message, then turned his mount, urging the horse into a longer stride.

  Rahl just hoped that the message reached Taryl in time. He didn’t know what he could do about the regiments ahead. Even if a messenger could find the commanders, what could he say? Don’t pursue
the rebels past the redoubt? But was that what Golyat wanted, so that his forces could have time to regroup? Or was something else being planned?

  Whatever might happen, the commanders should know what the rebels were doing. Rahl started to open his mouth, but closed it as he sensed that the remaining rebels in front of the Imperial regiments had broken—scattering in all directions and leaving the way open for a charge toward the main rebel force.

  The troopers of the regiment on the northern side of the ridge surged forward.

  Rahl winced. In those moments he’d deliberated, he’d lost his chance. Although a messenger might not have found the commanders, they might have.

  The troopers on the southern side actually reined up and began to reform.

  Just before the northern regiment—the Third, Rahl thought—drew abreast of the stone redoubt, with the nearest troopers and their mounts a good three hundred cubits from the stone structure, chaos-flame flared out across the ridge.

  Despite himself, Rahl reeled in the saddle with the wave of deaths that chilled the afternoon, despite the heat of the sun. From what he could see and sense, the entire regiment had been wiped out. “Company halt!” he yelled at Drakeyt.

  “Company halt!”

  All five squads drew up in a line abreast, first squad to the south, and fifth to the north. Ahead of them, no more than a quarter kay, the commander of the surviving regiment had ordered a withdrawal, and the regiment reversed itself and then re-formed just before Third Company—almost five hundred cubits from the redoubt.

  Whatever means the rebel mages had used to project that searing blast of chaos-flame, it had taken great effort. Rahl could easily sense the decrease in the amount of chaos-power within the stone redoubt.

  A ring of blackened ground surrounded the small circular stone redoubt, no more than thirty cubits across. Rahl sensed close to a half score of mages within the redoubt, although he felt that three or four were either not that powerful or so exhausted that they had little more that they could contribute. After the attack on Third Regiment, Rahl could understand that.