Chapter Six.
Ogai watched in satisfaction as his troops swept from their hiding place down to the illuminated Fort, a great wave of heroic patriots. They brandished spears, swords, glaives, maces and crossbows, ready to kill and die for their empire. Ogai himself wasn't stupid enough to be in the initial attack, he waited on the crest of a low knoll astride his warhorse.
A warning horn sounded from within the camp in reply to the charge. Soldiers began to pour from barracks, rushing to their assigned stations. Ogai watched several trip over as they attempted to put on their pants and run at the same time. Very humorous, who knew taking over the world would be so comical?
To Ogai's right was Ransyn, holding his over-eager bay's head in with a cruel hand. The beast danced beneath the captain, keen to join the chase. Ransyn's left arm rested on his thigh, massive fist clutching the hilt of a plain steel broadsword.
"My lord," Ransyn panted, bloodlust in his eyes. "Let me go with the troops, let me get the Book for you."
"No," Ogai replied. "We shall wait until the Fort is secured before we make our move."
Ransyn nodded, but couldn't hide a look of disappointment. Ogai reached across and clapped a hand to his friend's shoulder.
"Fret not; we shall get the Book in due course. Why risk our hides unnecessarily to achieve something that is destined to happen?"
Ransyn nodded. "I never thought of it that way before, my lord. You are undoubtedly wise."
Ogai heaved a sigh. "That's why I will rule the world," he replied.
Ransyn grinned, moonlight glinting off his teeth.
The pair turned their attention back to the battle ensuing below. Ogai's highly trained soldiers had already breached the first portcullis and, even as Ogai and Ransyn watched, they fought their way through the second. Anticipation bubbled in the pit of Ogai's stomach as he wet his lips eagerly, soon the Book would be his.
With a roar that echoed off the hills, his men pushed their way through the third barrier and poured into the compound. The clash of steel on steel rang out clear on the still night air, caressing Ogai's ears with its familiar notes. He shuddered with excitement. The cries of the Ohadian guards rose above even the steel, men frantically yelling for support, or screaming as a Gyurelian blade buried itself deep within their flesh.
Ogai couldn't wait any longer. He gathered his reins and drummed his heels against his horse's barrel-like ribcage. The beast half-reared in alarm, tossing its head with a grunt, then struck out down the scrubby knoll with ground-eating strides. The thunder of its huge hooves nearly drowned out the cacophony below.
Nearly.
Ogai heard Ransyn's emphatic whoop of delight and knew the captain was hot on his heels. He crouched low over the withers of his grey, urging the horse even faster over the treacherous terrain. At this speed, a fall would result in death, but Ogai's impatience overruled reason. He focused on the Fort below, now flickering with flame, and a savage grin sprang to his face.
It didn't take long before he was galloping through the portcullises. The bodies of those who had been guarding them at the moment of attack littered the ground, slowing Ogai's horse as the beast tried to avoid them. With a growl Ogai slapped the end of the reins against the stallion's shoulder, pushing it onward.
With the slick schick he loved so much, Ogai drew his own weapon, a deadly curved saca forged by master smiths. It was a fine blade, one of the finest Ogai had ever seen. After the sword had been finished he had had the men that crafted it put to death so they couldn't make such a beautiful weapon for anyone else.
With a roar he sliced it through the air, beheading a man who tried to unhorse him. Hot, sticky blood splattered against Ogai's breeches as the headless corpse fell away. The steel of his saca was suddenly a vivid scarlet colour, the dance of flames across it intoxicated him, spurred his desire.
Three more men fell to his lethal swing before Ogai was sated. Only then did he rein his stallion in, breathing hard. All around him was chaos. Wagons and buildings alike burned hot with flame, filling the air with smoke. Carcasses lay scattered randomly, staining the earth with the blood that seeped slowly from their wounds. Most were the fort guards, but Ogai saw more than a few wearing the black uniform of his own men.
Rage burned inside him, heat spreading throughout his limbs. Before he could stop himself his hands burst into flame, burning the reins away and searing his horse's withers. The alarmed beast reared up abruptly and Ogai lost his balance, thudding to the earth. He rolled, narrowly avoiding the stallion's deadly hooves as the horse bucked and galloped away.
With a growl he pushed himself to his feet. An Ohadian guard, perhaps thinking Ogai was vulnerable now that he was on the ground, raised his weapon and charged. Ogai barely spared the man a glance, casually shooting a jet of fire from his hands which ignited upon impact and enveloped the soldier entirely in flame.
The man's battle-yell changed to a piercing, horrified scream. He beat his arms about his head, trying to put the inferno out. But it only blazed hotter. The scent of roasting flesh filled the air, and the men around them were distracted from their battles by the screams. They turned to look, some in terror, others in delight. The latter, of course, were Ogai's men.
It didn't take long for the burning man to die, only a few minutes to be precise. Ogai stood there and watched the guard's final moments with a mild sort of fascination as the battle resumed raging.
No-one was stupid enough to try attacking him again.
Ogai used the unofficial ceasefire they gave him to prowl the grounds unseen, slitting a few unsuspecting throats. He ignored the barracks, he could torch those later, and moved deeper into the compound, towards the Keep.
He passed a long, windowless set of barracks. As he did so the wall ahead of him began to sizzle and then glow white-hot. Fire that was not his doing licked slowly across it, burning the wood away in a large circle. Ogai stopped in his tracks.
With a blast of acrid smoke the wall disintegrated, leaving behind the charred edges of a gaping hole. From that hole stepped something Ogai didn't expect to see in a fort: a woman. She was slim and tall, but in the darkness he could not see her face. With even greater surprise he saw that her forearms were ablaze with flame.
She hadn't seen him yet; she stood in the shadow of the barrack and took stock of the battle raging on. A covey of a dozen of Ogai's warriors were charging in a tight group across the compound, cutting down all those unfortunate enough to stumble into their path. It was these men that caught the woman's attention.
Ogai watched, captivated, as the woman whipped her arms up. She placed her hands side by side, her thumbs parallel and touching, the rest of her fingers outspread and curled around as if she were catching a ball. The fire on her forearms illuminated her face then, and Ogai's breath caught to see how beautiful she was.
Another Firestarter. A woman Firestarter. Sudden possibilities assaulted his mind with visions of the two of them laying waste to great empires together. With her as his Queen, Ogai's world domination would be complete. Their children would rule for a thousand generations. His mouth was watering just thinking about it.
A blinding flash of white light distracted him from his dreaming. Ogai raised a meaty arm to shade his eyes and peered at the woman. A fireball of immense size and heat was growing in her palms. It swelled to the mass of a Wolf moon viewed from earth, and it kept growing. When it reached the magnitude of a boulder she brought her hands to her breast then thrust her arms outwards with force.
The fireball hurtled towards Ogai's men. They saw it coming but could not react as far as letting a look of horror spring to their faces. With a roar that could rival the wildest storm, the fireball engulfed them all. It shot upward in a pillar of dancing orange flame, licking towards the sky. Ogai could see the silhouetted forms of his men writhing in its embrace. He could smell their searing flesh, hear their frantic screams. When it reached the height of the Keep, the column of fire dissipated. His men were nowhere to be seen.
Some of the guards cheered, realising that, somehow, the fiery behemoth had been on their side. They resumed their attack on Ogai's forces with renewed vigour, forcing his men to fight a defensive battle.
Anger made Ogai's hands ignite to flame. The woman heard the whoosh and turned, and Ogai saw the fire of her power dancing in her eyes.
"You just made a very fatal mistake," he hissed, voice sibilant and dangerous.
His fire did not stretch to his elbows as hers did; she was infinitely more powerful than he. But Ogai had trained hard to master his power. He was at least a score older than she was, and that was a score more experience he had to his advantage.
He saw her eyes dip to look at his flaming fists. Her mouth dropped open slightly, an expression of surprise coming to her face, a face he was going to char to ash. Vengeance surged through him. Twin balls of fire began to grow in his palms.
"I thought I was the only one," she said, voice so quiet that Ogai had to strain to hear it.
"As did I," he replied through his teeth. "And soon I will be!"
Ogai snapped his arms up and loosed the fireballs, no larger than a horse's hoof, at her. He was quick, but the woman was quicker. With a flick of her own hands she turned the projectiles aside. They lit harmlessly on the packed dry earth and hissed out of existence, leaving black marks.
She grinned and turned to look at him, the expression of glee dying when she saw his malicious smirk. Abandoning his power, he reached forward and drove his fist directly into her jaw. Her head snapped back, her knees buckled and she fell like a stone, collapsing unconscious to the ground.
Ogai shook his fist slightly, knuckles stinging from the impact, and looked down at her still form. It would be too easy to kill her. He cocked his head to the side, considering. After a moment he heaved a sigh and made his fists burst to flame. It was a necessary deed.
Just as he reached down to grasp her throat with his burning hand, a club swung in from nowhere. Ogai couldn't react fast enough to avoid it, and it collided solidly with his skull. The crack echoed dully through his head, and nausea overwhelmed him. Ogai staggered, the world tilting on its axis, disorientating him. He turned and saw the club heading his way again, wielded by a shadowy figure almost as large as he was. His instincts kicked in and he reached up, catching the blow intended for his jaw with his left arm instead.
Pain shot up through his elbow and sharpened his rattled senses. Rage tore through him. How dare this wretch attack him! The next time the club arched his way; Ogai caught it and wrenched it from the shadow's hands, burning it to a cinder with his power. The silhouette groped to its hip, but no friendly sword hilt met his fingers. Ogai grinned.
"Looks like you're out of options," he said, taking a step forward. "Don't worry, when I rule the world you won't suffer for long."
Then his fist sailed through the air and the shadow joined his companion on the ground.