Amendments (19 page)

              Menoh put his hand inside his white and yellow Lumin robe and pulled something out.  He walked to Grandel's cage and held up a metal key.  He looked long and hard at Grandel, then turned the key, pulled off the lock, and walked away.

              Osarik stepped forward and opened the crude wooden door.  He held down a hand to Grandel and pulled him to his feet.  The two walked out of the wooden cage together.

              Adeel walked toward Grandel smiling coyly.  “Happy now, you masochist?”

              Grandel chuckled and wiped tears from his face.  Jarek ran up behind Adeel and said, “Hey, since I got you out and everything... can I be a soldier now?”

Chapter 20

Behemoths

             
As far as Grandel knew, an army of straghs had never existed before.  Straghs were not humans—they could not be intimidated, surprised, or reasoned with.  Therefore, all standard battle strategies were useless.  Grandel still had a few ideas, however.  Last time, the smaller straghs stayed near the behemoth, and the Azurite Knight scouts said they were approaching together even though the regular straghs were much faster.  Grandel planned to make use of the din exploding straghs to thin the numbers of regular straghs, and possibly injure the behemoths as well.  The armies of The Returners and Talik would ride out to meet the straghs and battle them as far from the settlements as possible.  Then, their forces would attempt to do hit-and-run tactics, constantly retreating from the forces.  Hopefully, by picking off the exploding straghs, they could thin the numbers of the beasts significantly before having to fight in earnest.

              Grandel looked around at his forces from atop one of the few horses they owned.  Despite their little training, the one-hundred and ten Returners strode forward with determination.  The forces of Talik numbered a smaller eighty-seven, but they had many months, and sometimes years, more experience at being soldiers.  The forces walked side-by-side, all trained by Grandel.  They would understand the same tactics, battle-orders, and formations.

              Grandel met Elrid's eyes from atop another horse next to him.  “I still say we should not retreat in the direction of the settlements.  We should draw them away to the south.”

              Grandel nodded appreciatively.  It was a wise call in a normal situation, but Grandel was certain these straghs were headed toward their settlements no matter what.  They would ignore a path they tried to lead them down and the forces of Talik and The Returners would have to fight to get in front of them again.  “We discussed this, Elrid.  It isn't worth the risk.”  Elrid started to say something else, but Grandel said over top of him, “Remember, these aren't human enemies we're dealing with.  Some outside force is driving them toward our homes.  They won't be distracted from their target.”

              Elrid nodded.  “I just hope we can stop them in time.”  Grandel knew the lives of Elrid's wife and children were on the line along with many other loved ones.

              “We can,” Grandel declared with a confident voice, though his mind was much less resolute.  They were a force of less than two hundred men, many of which had never seen battle before and had mere weeks of training.  He had one Luxin, four Azurite Knights, and a dragon, though neither Fafnir nor her fake Luxin counterpart, Luxin Solrius, had been seen in days.  By Osarik's estimate, the four behemoths were surrounded by nearly five hundred straghs clawing their way across the grasslands.  Every man had to kill at least two straghs to have a chance at victory, not even including the imposing behemoths.  Many of The Returners and many soldiers of Talik would die.  Grandel hoped their deaths would protect their families, friends, and the ideals that the two settlements stood for.

              Grandel was jarred out of his pondering by one of his Talik soldiers.  He was wearing his leather hawk-adorned armor and pulled a man behind him.  Grandel recognized the man as one of the new recruits that had joined soon before he was put in the cage.  His name was Ash and he stared at the ground expressionless.  “Captain Grandel,” the Talik soldier started, “I found traces of a din user in The Returners and traced it to this man.  He is a self-trained Din Mage.”

              Grandel handed the reigns of his horse to Elrid and dismounted.  The three stopped and the rest of the forces marched on around them.  Grandel nodded to the Talik soldier.  “Thank you.  Good work.  I’ll take it from here.”

              The soldier saluted and said the Talik creed, “Life without freedom is death,” then turned and walked away.

              Grandel studied Ash.  He was middle-aged with a fair share of gray at his temples.  “Ash, I remember you joining.  You are good with a sword and show strong military sense.  I was thinking of making you a squad leader.  You can use din?”

              The man turned his head away from Grandel and spoke.  “My apologies, Grandel.  I have hidden this secret all my life.  Din mages are made into din slaves in Tier.  I do not want—”

              “My friend,” Grandel said, moving so he was in the man’s line of sight, “You will not be sent to Tier to be a din slave.  You have my word.”

              Ash finally met Grandel’s eyes for a moment, then looked away again.  “I am sorry.  No one but my family has ever known.  I don’t want anything to happen to us.”

              “Nothing will, Ash.  I promise you this.  However, we may be able to use your abilities.  How strong are you with din?”

              “I…” the man paused and looked glassy-eyed, “have no idea.  I've never been trained or had to use my powers.”

              “Describe what you can do.”  The man still looked hesitant.  “Look, we are facing an incredible threat, here.  You might just be the edge we need to win.”  Ash turned and returned his gaze.  “You need to let go of whatever reservations you have about using din.  You could save hundreds of lives today if you can.”

              Ash nodded.  “I can create small fires and make the ground shake.  I have never tried the ice manipulation.”

              “When you do this,” Grandel encouraged, “do you feel tired afterward?”

              “No.  I know what you’re getting at.  I never feel tired after using light spheres or other enchants.  I should be strong, but I’ve never used it like….” He motioned toward the soldiers now marching away from them.

              “We have a few hours.  Using din is similar in a lot of ways to lux.  Luckily we have a Luxin here who’d be happy to teach you.”

~~~

              Grandel peered over his shoulder to where Adeel and Ash talked on their horses behind him.  Grandel had ordered a horse to be given to the man so he could focus on Adeel’s teachings and to save his strength.  Adeel seemed to think the man was at least of moderate strength with din.  Grandel mentally added one untrained Din Mage to his list of assets in the coming battle.

              Grandel absentmindedly looked toward the dark and cold sky.  Isis's black shape was silhouetted against low clouds that hung overhead obscuring the mountains to the north.  There had still been no sign of Fafnir.  Grandel's eyes caught a faint, tan cloud of dust on the horizon.  There was something stirring up the dust over the next hill.  Grandel's body tensed just as someone else called out, “There's a dust cloud over that hill ahead of us!”  Grandel queried Isis and she sent back an aerial image of a horse and rider.

              As Grandel watched in the direction of the disturbance, the first tiny flakes of snow started to fall around the small army.  The scout that Grandel had sent out on horseback appeared over the next hill.  He changed direction so he galloped straight for Grandel.

              “Captain Grandel!” his voice rang out ahead of him as he rode.  “They are coming from the east!”

              The scout reached Grandel and pulled up beside him.  His mount let out great, heavy breaths of air that showed opaque in the cold air.  “How far?” Grandel asked gruffly.

              “See the next hill I just rode over?  It overlooks a large valley created by a stream running down from the mountains.  They are about to crest the other side of the valley any minute.”

              Grandel immediately sent a command for Isis to head in that direction.  “Can you confirm their numbers?”

              “It looked to me like a few hundred small straghs and four behemoths.”

              “Good work,” Grandel said as he patted the man on his shoulder.  “The Azurite Knights' report was accurate.”  Grandel threw up a closed fist and called in a booming voice, “Halt procession!”

              Other commanding officers nearby repeated the command.  The entire army stopped and watched Grandel ride forward.  Grandel rounded his horse and stood above the men and women whom he had trained to fight for their freedom.  For a moment, he was distracted with a swelling of pride at what he had accomplished.  He also realized these people could be willingly following him to their deaths.

              Grandel drew in a deep breath and spoke so they all could hear.  “Returners and citizens of the free town Talik, today a threat is at your doorstep—your doorstep which you have built yourselves, fought for, and gone through impossible hardships to build and keep.  Many of you will die today, but you will die defending your freedom.  You must know this—someone is so threatened by all that you have achieved that they have bred an army and sent it upon you.  You have changed this world for the better.  The people of Tier and Chiron know there is a free town to go to if they desire.  This is something no one has been able to do in our history.”  Grandel's voice rose in a steady crescendo.  “No one can stop the will to be free!  The Lumin has lead us to this freedom and she guides and protects even now!  Let us raise our voices in defiance!  Repeat, now, the creed of Talik!  Life without freedom is death!”

              Two hundred voices cried out in unison, “Life without freedom is death!”

              Grandel unsheathed his large sword and repeated, “Life without freedom is death!”

              The army repeated the creed even louder.  “Life without freedom is death!!!”

              Grandel rounded his horse toward the crest of the hill and kicked the animal forward.  “Charge!”

              The battle cries of two-hundred men rose with Grandel as he crested the lip of the hill and got his first sight of the valley.  The straghs were nowhere to be seen yet, but through the falling snow, Grandel could just make out the other side of the valley where they would appear.  The stream that flowed down from the mountains was moderate in size.  He figured it would be about waist-deep in the center.  This was a strategic blessing.  Grandel slowed to a trot and guided his horse next to Elrid's.

              “Send word to all the squad leaders that the first attack will happen on our side of the stream.  Archers should position to pick straghs off as they cross, spearmen and swordsman stationed on our bank to strike as they reach the shore.”

              “Yes, sir!” Elrid nodded and rode off to spread the word.  Grandel got a dull image back from Isis.  Snow streaked the hawk's vision and blurred the ground below.  However, Isis' keen eyes still caught several massive shapes lumbering up the hill.  Straghs swarmed at the behemoths' feet.  He ordered the hawk to continue to circle and keep watch.

              Within a minute, the men had spread themselves along the banks of the stream.  Fighters stood with weapons drawn and stared at the crest of the opposite side of the valley.  Archers stood behind on higher rocks and small cliffs that overlooked the water.  They held their bows anxiously as they scanned the horizon.

              Grandel saw movement over the lip of the other side of the valley, but he wasn't sure what he was looking at for a long moment.  The snow was beginning to fall in fat, wet snowflakes which blocked more of what little sun was penetrating the thick clouds above.  Vision of the battlefield could become a problem if the snow continued to intensify.

              A set of flat, massive shoulders slowly rose above the ridge of the valley.  A thin layer of snow glowed white in the dim light across the behemoth's back.  It rose impossibly tall over the edge of the hillside.  Three more appeared and rose above the rim towering over the horizon.  Hundreds of crawling straghs swarmed silently over the lip of the valley.  As Grandel had hoped, they did not surge forward to attack like straghs normally did.  They seemed to have an order, if those creatures could understand orders, to guard the behemoths.  Finally the full height of the first behemoth strode over the lip of the valley and started down toward the stream and the men.  Every time a massive metal foot fell against the earth, a low rumble could be felt and heard through the valley.  The heard of straghs neared the stream and finally picked up some speed, pulling ahead of the behemoths slightly.  It was as though their thirst for human fluids pulled them mindlessly forward despite their orders to guard the behemoths.

              “Archers, be ready!”  Grandel called in both directions.  “Fire when they are slowed by the water!”  He could tell his voice was dampened by the snowfall, but others nearby repeated the order down the lines of soldiers.

              Grandel watched the first straghs bound into the water and start to slowly pull their pale, horrifying bodies through the current.  The first arrows started to fly and dozens of straghs fell limply or flailed in the water.  More stepped down into the water as the remaining first wave of straghs stepped up and out of the deep water and started clawing their way toward the men on the shore.  Spears and swords flashed and cut into the pale flesh of the creatures.  Blood turned the small amount of snow that had started to accumulate a dark red.

              Suddenly, the battlefield erupted in explosions.  The straghs were, indeed, the special new kind.  Explosions of fire vaporized stream water immediately and threw bursts of orange light across the battlefield.  Great pillars of earth surged upward out of the water which threw boulders toward men and stragh alike.  Grandel saw a couple boulders bounce off Adeel's light barriers.  This sent them in the direction of the straghs instead of toward the men.  Spikes of ice erupted out of straghs' bodies and they became small, strange, floating icebergs where they froze the water around their corpses.