The Emperor's Shadow War (Tales of Alus Book 2)

by Donald Wigboldy

  The allies drew back to their camps without bothering to pursue the dark forces. There was no cheering their brief victory either, as everyone ate and rested preparing for the next battle.

  Chapter 50- Darius and Dante

  A chill in the early morning air had begun to fade as the orange sun moved slowly towards its peak above the world of Litsors. The soft hills of eastern Bairhdia were littered with the remains of the dark army's passing. Men, dwarves, elves, and gnomes moved in great numbers even as nearly half of the gargoyles floated on unseen breezes above the land searching and waiting for pockets of resistance to show themselves from the retreating enemy.

  Darius moved with the army though more towards its center. The army of gnomes led by a score of their mounted nobility moved just to the south of Darius and the other wizards. Dwarven armies and elves surrounded them on the other sides as well protecting the allies’ most important assets. As strong a force as was arrayed around them, the allies had made sure to separate the wizards into three main groups to insure their safety as much as possible.

  Ten other wizards strode alongside him or rode horseback. Only Tate and Xarien were left to him from his original command. Wizards Matalchus and Fioren would be together, however, in the group that they had been herded into before the march. He worried over that and many other matters.

  Having been a leader for so long, now the wizard felt like he had lost control of the whole situation. Ever since they had arrived, it seemed as if Janus and the elves had taken over them all. Fighting the twinge of bitterness that came from such thinking, Darius felt a certain need to lead his own people. After all, he had become a full wizard now and wasn't it his duty to lead alongside Matalchus and Fioren? But no, he thought, such petty feelings were not telling the whole truth of it. The truth was that none of those from Aerwold knew what they were dealing with anymore. At least, not to the extent that Janus and the lords of his world did.

  Darius had seen the maps in Feirhgenrell, of course, but the elves knew the land and all its many hills and valleys. From the time they had arrived here, he had let Janus and the lords lead because they could. It should have been a weight lifted from him as he knew that his true destiny wasn't this war of battlefields, but rather a final battle of magics at the Dark Lord's lair itself.

  Sighing as his mind pondered all the many problems that he could think of, Darius had to be content that everything was as it should be. Eventually, it would be his turn once more.

  He was startled when Electra suddenly pushed a small mass of flowers before his face. "What...?" the young man began as his eyes lifted to meet hers.

  The elf woman smiled, "Daylilies."

  Perplexed by the odd timing of the gesture, Darius asked, "What of them?"

  "I found a patch of them growing here despite the passing of both armies. I wondered if you couldn't learn something from them."

  "What do you mean, Electra?"

  "In one of the old texts of our world, a philosopher wrote something to the extent that we should not worry over the things that we cannot control, but rather limit our focus to that which we can. He said to look at the daylily. The flower blooms for a short time in early morning and then closes again as the heat of day comes.

  "The philosopher suggests that the daylily is open during the time it can make use of the day, but then closes to the part that it can not. People need to learn such things if they expect to be happy."

  "I assume that this has something to do with me, Electra?" the man asked assuming he knew her meaning, but was unwilling to give in so easily.

  The woman laughed and several of the people around them looked their way to see about the disturbance in the middle of the sobering march. "You know that it does, oh great wizard. I see you worrying about everything again, before you have even had a chance to see what truly stands before you. You need to focus only on the present and that which you can control, Darius. No one can expect to be happy or content if they worry all the time."

  "We're in a war, Electra. It is kind of hard not to worry, isn't it?" he complained.

  Again the elven woman laughed and it was if the sound served to cheer all those around her. Darius swore that the steps of the soldiers seemed to lighten and the occasional piece of laughter followed conversations as the soldiers kept to the marching before them.

  Electra noted his glancing. "Soldiers are a lot like the day lily as well. These men can't afford to waste a moment of their time being depressed as they march to fight, Darius. They know that they could die a week from now, a day, or even less than an hour. Listen to their laughter. The men speak of friends and family and boast of past battles won and perhaps of that which they hope to accomplish. They laugh at jokes that are only meant to lighten the air around them." She nudged him with her elbow before weaving the flowers into her hair.

  "Its funny," she stated absent-mindedly, "but I could have sworn that you used to laugh before you came here, Darius."

  Smiling despite his worries, the wizard twisted his fingers in quick little motions. The lilies responded to the magic he wove and seemed to revive as if they had gained new life in the elf maid's hair. Electra started as the flowers bloomed strongly between her fingers and appeared even more vibrant than before they had been trampled upon that morning. "All right, you win. I'll try not to worry about anything else for awhile, but I can't guarantee that I won't worry later. Being with you does tend to keep me from thinking upon much beyond your beauty thankfully."

  Plucking one of the blooms from her braids, Electra took a brief sniff and held it before Darius. "Are you trying to butter me up? If so, you are doing quite a good job of it." She smiled slyly, "If we weren't stuck in the middle of all these people, I would reward such an effort handsomely I assure you."

  Pulling her a little closer, Darius kissed her cheek gently. "Remember that for tonight then."

  The wizard noticed Tate suddenly turning away from him. Glancing around a moment, he realized that some of the others had obviously noticed as well. Darius smiled rather than letting himself be embarrassed. He would try to honor his agreement and think like a daylily.

  The morning swept by as quickly as the terrain they strode upon. It was past noon when word of renewed battle reached them again.

  The dark army had retreated for several miles to the east. Dante had worried that they were being led into a trap as did probably everyone else, most likely. When the enemy had crossed the Bairh River (or Rell in the native tongue) just east of the confluence of the Bairh and Norya and disappeared into the woodlands not far beyond the waters, every part of him had screamed that they shouldn't try to pursue them further.

  Apparently the holy knights and lords leading the first divisions agreed with him, the army came to a halt on the western side of the river. A wide bridge stood before them awaiting their footfalls. If the army wanted to cross now, the water was also shallow enough to permit a crossing through the river itself as well at this time of the year. They could send their soldiers in pursuit swiftly enough, but everyone feared what lay hidden in the woods beyond.

  Gargoyles were sent into the air to watch over the land as several mounted scouts moved into the woods. Dante watched more than a score of the men ride bravely into the trees several hundred feet away. He wondered how many would return. Unwilling to just sit and wait, the lieutenant went in search of Lord Grimnal.

  He found the north lord in heated debate with a pair of dwarven lords and three elven generals. Seeing Dante's approach, the giant man turned from the others dismissing them from his mind.

  "Dante," he greeted bluntly.

  "What are we going to do now, my lord?" Dante asked after acknowledging the greeting. "I'm sure that you believe as I do that this has to be a trap of some sort, sir."

  Gerid nodded, "We just haven't decided what to do about it exactly. We hope that our scouts can discover if they have set up defenses and ambushes or simply kept running. As you said, it would be most unlikely that our enemy continued
to run since they initiated the battle this morning."

  "Do we have the resources to risk setting off after them in that kind of cover?"

  "You're a smart enough man to know the answer to that, Dante. Besides, I was telling the others that I believe that we should fall back even from this position. I believe the enemy would know better than to think that we would cross over into a trap, so more likely staying here will result in the same."

  "But that would mean that they must have even more numbers than they showed to us this morning," Dante replied fearfully.

  Grimnal nodded gravely, "Exactly. These lords and generals don't seem as easily convinced of that though. They actually want to just leap across the river and continue the chase. They believe that they are unconquerable fighters with the gargoyles to help them in battle."

  "But that's crazy, sir!" Dante cried looking at the others beyond the lord's back. "They can't seriously believe that they can win against so many this easily. Do they truly think that the dark army fears them just because of the sunlight?"

  Shrugging in frustration, the giant replied, "I've sent messengers to the holy knights traveling in the armies just behind ours. Maybe they can talk sense into these men before the entire army walks into a trap behind us."

  Dante had returned to his people even as the army dug into their packs for lunch while the leaders decided upon the best course of action to take.

  It was shortly afterwards that word of an army coming from the south on their side of the Bairh was delivered to him. The trap was set for them as he had feared. Not long after, the army that had disappeared into the woods began to move in such large numbers towards the river that the scouts could hardly miss their change of tactics.

  Learning of the new army, Lord Grimnal took charge quickly despite the protests of elf and dwarf alike. Embankments were built up as defenses against the river. Other trenches and earthen walls were erected on the southern flank to slow the second army there.

  As those preparations moved into full swing, word was sent to the armies following. They were ordered to move south quickly. The idea was to catch the southern army between those at the river and a significant portion of the allies’ army coming from the south and west. Dante knew the risk that the lord was taking. If they couldn't hold out by the rivers, or if the other allies couldn't catch the southern army properly to shatter them, then most likely those that defended the river would all be lost and probably the rest as well shortly after.

  He could do little but offer up prayers to the old gods, like the war god, Turas, if his power could reach into this world. Continuing to help with the building up of their defenses, Dante and Valenia’s command prepared for what was to come.

  Walls stood four or five feet in places, often with trenches on the eastern side that had been caused by need for the earth to erect the barriers themselves, which made them seem even taller on the other side. As the enemy strutted haughtily from the woods east of the Bairh Rell, Dante figured that they were as prepared as they could get in so little time. Phalanxes of dwarven soldiers stood directly behind the barriers as the first line of defense with their spears and shields at the ready like an iron hedge. Axes were worn on their hips for the time they would need them as well. Lines of swordsmen of human or elven origin were placed here and there to reinforce their number, but most were held in reserve behind the next type of soldiers.

  Pike men stood ready with shields and their long spears. They would fortify dwarven infantry while the third line hailed arrows from bows and crossbows. Other swordsmen waited filling in the gaps between the southern barrier and the river front with their shields ready to defend themselves and the archers from a possible attack from enemy arrows that they could assume would show themselves soon. Massed together like that, Dante wondered if the enemy's wizards were nearby. If they were, their small defenses would mean nothing.

  The eastern army attacked tentatively at first. They were still awaiting their comrades from the south after all and could afford to slow their arrival to smash at the defenses before them. Dwarven axe and spearmen along with archer's arrows drove back the skirmishers with little trouble and few losses in the early minutes.

  The southern army finally made its way over the last of the hills separating the forces and soon the battle was begun in earnest. Dante and his people waited towards the center with the swordsmen and archers. The Grimnal had disappeared immediately when the southern army arrived.

  "He's gone to fight at the front of the army again," Dante commented aloud though the thought was meant for himself more than others.

  "He's a brave man and an incredible warrior," Valenia noted. "We could not hope for any better to lead us into battle, Dante. That man is almost like an entire army unto himself."

  Nodding, the lieutenant said, "I know, but I wish that I could have been allowed to join him there. He needs someone to cover his back that he can count on like in the fight with that monster this morning."

  "Dante...," Valenia said shaking her head as if disappointed. "He has gargoyles, swordsmen and dwarves to help him there. You don't have to do everything the same as Lord Grimnal, you know?"

  The man didn't bother to answer. The crashes of metal and screams of man and beast alike wafted thinly to his ears. The battle had begun on both fronts now. Fingers clutched the pommel of his sword and spear nervously as he awaited the call to battle himself. Dante couldn't bring himself to look at Valenia as his worries over her safety were reinforced now more than ever. The battle looked to have turned desperate for the allies now and he feared that they would not survive. The dark army's numbers were just so great that it seemed impossible to believe in victory.

  Wanting to believe the advice that the Grimnal had given him, Dante tried to steady his mind. He was a great swordsman, with amazing weapons and armor provided by Drakus, but could he believe himself invincible enough to survive what was coming towards them?

  "Breach!" voices called from nearby. Dante pulled his sword from its scabbard. Looking up and towards the south, a score of gargoyles swept up and then down again only a few hundred feet from them.

  "They're starting to get through already," he spoke quietly to no one in particular. "I wonder where the rest of our armies are now. If they don't come and shatter that new army, we'll be dead in less than half an hour."

  "Don't worry, they'll be here," Valenia replied bravely. What the man didn't hear were the words she whispered to herself of what would happen if they didn't.

  Janus rode atop a white stallion at full gallop to pull up only a few feet from Darius and the wizards. "Darius!" he shouted hoarsely from the dust of battle and riding, "our forces are ensnared alongside the Bairh Rell. Perhaps we should leave now and try to take on the dark fortress while they are distracted?"

  Darius looked to the knight's face to judge if fear or desperation drove the elf to ask such a question. "You want to leave those trapped at the river to their own fate? That doesn't sound like you, Janus. Have the scouts found the enemy's wizards yet?"

  The elf noted the change in subject, but answered dutifully, "No sign of them."

  The wizard's fingers clutched his chin in thought. "That worries me. I have heard that a second army appeared to the south to attack our vanguard."

  "There is a second army, yes."

  "Why didn't the scouts see them sooner? Did the enemy wizards use a portal to transport them to the south like we know they have in other battles?"

  The elf's face tightened. "You ask me questions that I cannot answer, Darius. What is your point? If the army is using its wizards to send one army that can overwhelm us along with the first, then what does it matter if there is a third that will ensure that we will lose? We both knew that the battle with the Emperor would decide matters. We cannot win this war in the field, Darius, we were wrong in our belief of their numbers. They are too many for us."

  Darius turned angrily from the sight of the elf. The others surrounding them all looked away from him quickly e
xcept for Electra, who kept her look neutral. "Then they need our help that much more, Janus. I can't bring myself to leave now when we believe that this army will fail. If we stay and use some of our magic here, then maybe we can change the results." He turned back to the knight and ordered, "Give me a command of wizards and a division of infantry and horsemen. All the wizards will need to be able to ride as well and have a steed that can keep up."

  "What are you planning, wizard?" Janus asked suspiciously.

  Darius ignored the question momentarily. "You have sent the main bulk of our armies to the south to try and come in behind the second army, if I heard correctly?"

  "Indeed," the elf answered with arms crossed defiantly.

  "I will lead my divisions and wizards and shatter them from the west."

  "What?" he demanded. "You will waste your powers and never be able to help defy the Dark Emperor at his lair. This is unacceptable."

  "As I see it, it is the only chance we have. The army won't succeed if we lose so many at the river. If they fail, even if we defeat the Dark One, the dark army could come under another's sway and finish the job. If we shatter the second army, we can buy them the chance to possibly defeat the entire enemy at the river."

  The elf sniffed in disagreement, "And what if a third or even fourth army appears while you recover your strength to attack the Emperor?"

  Darius shrugged, "Then I'll find the strength to help you anyway." The wizard looked at him and strode over to grab hold of the elf's shoulders. "We can't let all these people die, Janus. Can't you see that?"

  Still looking unhappy, the knight nodded, "Fine, but I am coming with you."

  Janus took command of a troop of elven cavalry, a thousand human foot soldiers and another thousand of the gnomes from the nearby commands. With all those and the wizards astride their horses, the elf led them on a brisk march north and east of the main army. As they rode, Darius spoke with the wizards explaining the magic that he proposed they discharge into the enemy.