the Twelve-faced Moon: A Loona fanfiction

Chapter XXVII

Hyejoo III

Hyejoo woke in the darkness to the blare of trumpets and Bya's guttural howl.

"General Son!" a booming voice beckoned,her shoulder shaken,a figure of round rotund men stood.

Groggy,she sat up and threw back the pelt blanket. The horns called through the night,wild and urgent. She heard shouts,clatter of spears,whicker of horses.

"these savages stole a march on us," Wonil said "he crept down the road in the dead of the night and now his horde is less than a mile north of here,forming up in battle array. Nam Ren told me to sound the horn,readied the men and wake you."

So,Surhachi decided to meet us on the open field rather than starved to death...I shall oblige then.

"See that my Wolfpacks ready to ride."

Wonil then rode out atop his wolf,disappearing through wisp of pale fog in Ning'an.

Hyejoo then deftly put on her jet black plate mail,gauntlets,greaves,pointed steel boots and a greathelm shaped in a snarling wolf's head with bright red ruby as it's eye.

She step out from her tent,clink and clank her heavy armor sing,men and horses blundered through the predawn chill,saddles being cinched,wagons loaded,campfires extinguished. Bya howling again and Hyejoo answer with a whistle,nigh impossible to be heard by mere men during these chaos but Bya hears it clearly,Hyejoo knew.

Seemingly materializes from thin air among the pale fog,she galloped through the fog and sat on four leg in front of Hyejoo,all saddled up,ready for her rider.

The horn blew again.

Atop Bya,Hyejoo took the twin axes from the sack in the saddle and rode forth,her Wolfpacks trailing behind her.

Her stomach was a hard knot,so tight it pained her. Behind,her servants hurriedly began to strike her tent. Pale crimson fingers fanned out to the east as the first rays of sun broke over the horizon while the western sky speckled with stars still,in deep purple. Hyejoo wondered if this was the last sunrise she would ever see and whether wondering about it was a mark of cowardice.

Did her father ever contemplate death before a battle? Or does Jungeun? Jinsol? Yujin?

The warhorn sounded in the far distance,

now Hyejoo could hear it better,deep mournful note that chilled the soul. In the light of dawn,the army of General Son Hyejoo unfolded like a snarling wolves,fangs and claws all jutted out. Her Wolfpacks awaits command and the Alpha barks it.

she told Myunghoon and his thousand rider to take the center along with Yujin's men. Quivers hanging from their belt,foot archers arrayed themselves into three long lines.

Between them,pikemen formed squares behind rank of men-at-arms with spear and sword and axe,Nam Ren's men,bearing the sigil of red fox in their surcoat.

The right wing was all wolf raiders,four thousand strong,heavy with the weight of their weapon and armor,massing together like a great steel fist. Kwang Youngho had the command,atop his silver wolf. Followed closely by Dohee,Wonil and old Horsebane,all atop wolves of their own.

She sent the Salt Wolf and his pack to scout ahead towards the hill with the reserves,five thousand strong to take the high ground and watch the battle unfold below him,to commit his forces when and where they will be needed the most.

Hyejoo could hear the rumble of the Nuzheni's war drums now. she told her standard-bearer to unfurl her banner,the twin howling wolf under the moon in black field is now in full display,