Chapter 32
Searon pushed everybody to their limits, even himself. Everyone followed him without question, even those that were in doubts only days before. There wasn't anyone who wasn't growing weary, but they all kept their mouths shut. They knew that it was more important to reach the city in time. Many of those men were kin to those in the cities and villages of the south. The rest had already developed friendships with those of the south and were welcoming them to their homes and pubs for feasts in the north after destroying draeyks.
Most of their journey was silent because using breath would be using too much energy that could better be conserved for travel. Searon had a hard time staying behind with his men when he had Stripes that could gallop faster than any of the men could run. He knew it would be a foolish act because he wouldn't be able to fight an entire army by himself, no matter how much he wanted to. Even with Starlyn keeping his pace – the two of them were still no match. Searon did ride ahead with Karceoles and Starlyn by his side. Many of the human captains weren't far behind on their own horses as well as a few thousand cavalry.
It was impressive to say the least at the progress of the men on foot. None of them seemed to take breaks but continued walking throughout. Many had canteens and dried meat in their packs that they used while they marched. They knew it was their duty to protect the people of Calthoria and wouldn't give up hope due to tiredness. Searon was quite proud of the effort and continued to push them.
What should have taken the army two weeks by foot ended up only taking just over a week. Searon and Karceoles had made it to Legain in little over a week by horse, and yet they took several breaks between. There was no time for such luxuries on the second journey. He wasn't sure if his homeland was already being attacked or if the raids had just begun. Nothing was clear in the scouts' words other than before he could reach the cities he would be intercepted by the creatures. Either way, Searon knew that he was going to be late to come to his brother's aid. During the travel, the ravens had come with letter after letter of assistance needed near Legain. Searon cursed his luck as he read each one.
The weather became hotter the farther south they traveled. It didn't seem as hot the last time Searon passed through, but water scattered the ground in a fresh rain that seemed to bake in the sunlight. The humidity was nearly unbearable as it caked his skin in pounds of water that soaked into his cloth riding gear. He felt suffocated in a mask of a blanket that wrapped around, him yet no matter what he would do, it would never tear off.
He had taken his armor off the instant the heat rose from the morning and attached it to his saddlebags. There was little doubt in his mind that with his armor still on he would have been baked to the back of his horse like a fried egg. The heat didn't slow him or his men, though, as they trudged through the unbearable heat and rough terrain.
Birds seemed to keep a constant chirp around him that was very different from the birds around the kheshlarn capital of Sudegam. Instead of being in chorus with each other with soothing melodies, they seemed to be in competition to see who the best singer was. It was still soothing to Searon's ears as he'd rather hear that than silence. The sound of birdsongs gave him enough inspiration to continue on without giving up. Even some crickets began chirping, which added a more soothing effect.
Only when Searon danced his head around to the beats of the animals did he realize the effect was making him tired. Without but a few minutes of sleep here and there while being on top of his horse, he was growing weary. He turned to his side and noticed the wizard puffing on his long-stem pipe. Searon cursed as he forgot where he had hid his own pipe and nudged his stallion toward the wizard's horse. Without speaking to Karceoles, he snatched the pipe out of his hand and began puffing.
"Excuse me, human, what is it that you think you are doing?"
"Smoking, what are you doing...wizard?"
"I was smoking until some human brat stole my pipe!"
"Perhaps you should have held onto it better; besides, you don't need the tobacco nearly as much as I. How much longer until we arrive?"
Karceoles huffed and pulled some more tobacco out of his pouch and held it in a ring between his index finger and thumb. "Two days at this pace."
"What are you doing?" Searon asked.
"Being ingenious."
The brown tobacco burned orange, and the wizard sucked in his breath, taking the smoke into his mouth. He inhaled deeply before puffing it out into large rings. Searon only shook his head in amazement.
"Two days," he whispered.
He looked over to his side and noticed Starlyn with a lone bead of sweat trickling down her brow. Searon cursed, wishing he could be so lucky. His entire face was soaked, and his hands pruned as if he had spent hours swimming in a pond. Still, Searon knew kheshlars weren't even supposed to sweat, and so he knew that Starlyn was tired. She didn't show it, but he could tell after having known her for a short while already. It was obvious to him while other humans would be oblivious to it. Sweat was a sign of tiredness for a kheshlar, same with the expression of dread. Her lips were closed tight together, and her eyes stared straight ahead. She didn't seem to glance about to inspect her surroundings as she normally would.
He studied her as a few more beads of sweat came across her face, almost making a light coating. It was still nothing compared to that of the humans surrounding them. Even Karceoles was drenched in sweat with his salt-and-pepper hair slick against his neck. Starlyn shivered and quickly turned her head east. She shook her head and turned her face forward once more. Her head jerked to the east once more, and she looked up to Searon. She stopped in her tracks and looked to the east indefinitely.
"There is no wind..." she whispered.
Searon had to bring his horse to a stop and trot back toward her. When he reached her, she still didn't look at him, but her hand was on the hilt of her hammer.
"What?" he asked.
He tried to follow her gaze and comprehend her words. His mouth moved to form what she said. There is no wind. He knew there was no wind; wind would have made the heat bearable for him. Without the wind, he and all of his men were drenched in layers of sweat. He noticed more sweat caked against Starlyn's nearly flawless face and studied her.
"I can hear the leaves," Starlyn said quietly. She dared not turn to look at Searon but continued to stare at the bushes at the edge of the forest.
He turned to the bushes where she stared with caution. There was a pair of sapphire eyes glaring through the trees. They were staring at Starlyn with such ferocity that it rendered her speechless. It was shocking that such a beautiful blue could be considered so deadly.
"Daerions!" Starlyn yelled.
Realization dawned on Searon. They were at the edge of the forest, almost out of it. Had they continued on and left the forest to the downward slope toward the first city by the river, they would have been exposed to an attack from behind. The attack would have been devastating because they would have had to fight uphill and would have been caught by surprise from behind.
He could still only see the sapphire eyes, but he trusted Starlyn's judgment. She already had her hammer drawn and clenched tight in her hands. Searon withdrew his claymore from its scabbard and stared into the trees. The crimson glow sparkled through the shady trees, and everyone looked up at him.
"Weapons!" Searon yelled.
All of the cavalry and captains on horses pulled their weapons and formed into battle ranks. Many of the warriors on foot were still a league behind, with a few scattered between to keep rank. Still, Searon knew he couldn't count on them for this battle and hoped the cavalry troops were worth their salt as warriors. Karceoles had his zylek already out glowing orange in anticipation. Andron and Etherond were a league behind with the rest of the men to help lead them, and he wished they were up front. Searon knew of Andron's skill already, but he had heard from several men that Etherond had bested Andron on numerous occasions.
He watched as a few hundred sapphire eyes appeared and rough-skinned blue bodies appeared from the bushes. It was a strange sight to see blue creatures able to disappear through the shadows of green bushes. If he hadn't seen it in that moment, he would have never believed it. He rushed forward to meet the creatures in battle and crossed his blade against a spiked mace. The two of them danced in a flurry of attacks both high and low. Each strike was expertly defended by the other. Searon wished the blue-skinned creatures were as pathetic as the draeyks in fighting, but these put up a hard fight. It almost seemed as if a master at arms was the one who had trained them. Finally, he was able to slide his metal between the creature's defense to slice off one of its horns, followed by its head.
When he turned to his left to block an incoming creature, he failed to notice another come from his right. A blunt mace caught him at the ribs at half force that knocked him from his saddle. He was glad for his horse's movements to try and avoid the attack, or it could have been much worse. When he rose to his feet, he spit dirt out of his mouth and tried to get the dry taste from his mouth. His claymore was still clenched in his hands as he stepped forward. Stripes trotted away from the battle, though he still remained useful. When a daerion would stray, Stripes would kick it hard with his hind legs before dashing away in another direction.
Searon stepped forward, welcoming a daerion to come toward him, but instead of only one, three stepped forward. He clenched his teeth. So be it. He fought gallantly against the creatures but was barely able to hold his own. A few times, he was able to inflict a few slashes against the faces of the creatures, but there was little more than that he could do.
At his side, a strange flashing green light flickered where nothing stood. He watched it from the corner of his eye for treachery and nearly froze in shock with what appeared. A man with thick eyebrows and yellow hair as bright as the sun appeared in green robes. He was weaponless, but his hands flared an emerald green to match his cold eyes. The same glow encircled the three daerions in front of Searon before what seemed like a strong wind tossed them backward.
"Could you use some help, Master Searon?" the man asked.
"Sh'on? I thought you were at the back for defense."
"I was...though it seems I am much more needed up here. I could not entrust your life with the likes of that wizard. He won't even notice you in the heat of battle. Besides, it does not take too much energy to teleport up here."
"Nothing better happen to our back lines on your watch," Searon muttered.
"Spoken like a true general, I commend you on your effort. I know we have not been properly introduced. I am Shronan Onderon, mage of Calthoria, and old ally of Starlyn during the draeyk war."
"Not that I mind introductions, but I hardly feel this is the time."
"Yes, I understand; what is our plan to defeat these creatures?"
Searon looked at him and then back to where the majority of the battle was being fought. Karceoles shot flame after flame at creatures, burning them to a crisp and turning their blue-skinned bodies black. Between uses of magic, he used his zylek as a staff and fought against the blunt weapons of the creatures.
"Are you as powerful as Karceoles with magic?" Searon asked.
"No, but I am wiser in how I use my power. Fire takes up a lot of energy; I would never be able to do such a feat as he. Instead, I use simpler spells. Air takes up less energy, and the highest I'll go with elements is ice because it's more effective in smaller doses than fire."
"Follow me, and use your knowledge to slow the creatures that I fight and anyone around me fights."
"As you command," Sh'on said.
Searon dashed forward and fought against the three daerions that the mage had pushed back. It was so much more effective with Sh'on behind him as his magic froze a few attacks and tossed other ones backward. A battle that should have taken nearly half an hour only took a few minutes before all three creatures lay dead at his feet. The mage was right that his power was used wiser than the wizard's. It had a larger area of effect while Karceoles only shot down one creature at a time. Karceoles couldn't even create an area of effect with his fire otherwise to cause damage to their own men.
"Reckless fool of a wizard," Sh'on said under his breath as he looked to Karceoles.
The wizard was shooting fireballs that appeared to be getting out of control and harming the humans surrounding the creatures. Many had to flee back to roll on the ground and put themselves out. Searon stepped up to Starlyn's side, and both fought next to each other in almost a rhythmic dance to defeat creature after creature. There were only a few hundred, and the more Searon thought about it the more he came to the conclusion that the force was only meant to slow them down and cause them casualties rather than destroying them.
The battle was going in their favor, but there were still many casualties that Searon wished hadn't occurred. There was limited archer support with many of their archers farther back. Some had caught up and began supporting them since they were able to travel faster with their limited armor. Starlyn seemed preoccupied as she battled looking away from the foe in front of her to another in the ranks. Searon glanced to where she was looking and noticed a larger more muscular creature seeming to bark unintelligible orders to the others. He had no idea such creature would have a commander, although it would make sense. His assumption had been their commander would have been a human or kheshlar or something with higher knowledge. He wondered how intelligent the creatures were.
"They have a commander," he whispered to the mage.
"I assume so, as their attack is coordinated," Sh'on whispered.
"Southeast thirty paces, the larger one with a scimitar, do you see him?"
"Yes."
"A leaderless army is chaos, can you create a path to him?"
"I can," whispered Sh'on.
"Do it."
He turned and looked at Starlyn, who only nodded. She stepped back and let him lead the attack with the length of his glowing claymore. From her sash, she removed a handful of shurikens. She glanced around and studied her opponents hard before releasing them. Searon smiled as he noticed the daerions surrounding the commander began falling. Many were only injured rather than killed by the shurikens, but with them weak they would be easier quarry. Air surrounding a dozen of the creatures became thicker and turned green before they were raised off their feet and tossed across the ground.
Searon turned and noticed on the other side Karceoles led men to keep them away from him as a distraction. He doubted the wizard knew what he was doing, but he dared not convince him of battle tactics. Searon sliced down daerion after daerion as he made his way toward the captain. Men rushed in behind him to finish off the injured creatures that both he and Starlyn had weakened.
Starlyn stood next to Searon as they faced the daerion captain. Its eyes seemed to sparkle before a twisted smile came across its face. The scimitar rang as it pounded it against its chest before diving toward both Searon and Starlyn. Starlyn tried to throw shurikens at the creature, but each one was either deflected or dodged. The daerion captain put up quite the fight with Searon and Starlyn, showing its superior fighting skills.
The creature's scimitar grazed Searon's elbow, and he cursed, wishing he had his plate mail on. He knew that in the heat it would be of little use and would only succeed in tiring him. Starlyn crushed the creature's left hand in a swipe with her hammer, but the act only enraged the monster, causing it to push both Searon and Starlyn back.
"Sh'on!" Searon screamed.
He turned to see the mage up against his own band of foes. At least three daerions surrounded him, and he continued to use magic to knock them away, but only more sprang at him. Still, he turned and saw Searon in peril and held out a glowing left hand that shot energy at the captain daerion. The creature only faltered a step back rather than being knocked airborne, but it was enough for Searon to dash forward and sliced its left hand off. The advantage only lasted for a moment as the creature dashed toward them and moved its blade so swift that it was barely noticeable.
As soon as a break came, Searon stepped back and looked for a weakness in the creature's attack. It was unlike the rest of its comrades in that its attacks seemed almost flawless. He couldn't quite place it, but he knew there was a weakness in there. Starlyn dived and rolled around several attacks before rushing to his side.
"His confidence," she whispered.
"Excuse me?"
"You're looking for the creature's weakness. Confidence; it has too much confidence in its ability."
"Do you want the kill?" Searon asked.
"You have a plan?"
"Yes, don't fret on my fall; use it to your advantage, but do not think you do me any favor by acting foolish over it."
She smiled, already knowing his plan.
He dashed forward with a slash that was easily deflected, before stepping back. The creature snarled at his taunt and sprang toward him. Starlyn stood on the side, offering a few blows. Its focus was on Searon, and while it contained Starlyn it stepped toward him. He kept his attacks steady and stepped forward with a clumsy foot that twisted in the dirt, causing him to stumble. Without missing a beat, the creature took advantage and knocked the claymore from Searon's hands. He stepped back with a gulp before tripping over his own feet. The creature drove Starlyn back before turning to Searon that lay on the ground. Two slashes were dodged by Searon before jumping to his feet and pulling a dagger from under his leather that he stabbed through the sword hand of the creature. It shrieked loudly before turning around and into the square of Starlyn's hammer that crushed its skull in.
Echoing shrieks came from the surrounding creatures as they saw their leader fall to the ground. Daerions everywhere stopped fighting and dashed through the forest north. When the attack first began, there were nearly three hundred creatures, and yet it was less than a hundred that retreated.
Sh'on stepped forward and clasped his hand on Searon. "Well done."
"Tend wounds where you can, and continue forward. There is little time to waste," Searon said.
He turned, and his horse came trotting up to him. With a sigh of relief, he hopped up on the animal and continued the rest of the way out of the forest. When he broke through the clearing, what he saw brought chills to his bones. Black smoke rose in the sky from Erdunadir by the river. The village appeared in ruins, although its damage couldn't be determined from such a far distance.
"No time to waste," Searon whispered as he urged his horse forward to a gallop.