The Sword of Light: Book One of the Veredor Chronicles (20 page)

‘
Urs-shaka, Urs-shaka, Urs-shaka,’ bellowed the muckron army
in response. The wyvern released a bloodcurdling scream that sent
shivers through the Ortarian army.

‘
For Ortaria!’ cried King Ignis, drawing his sword as he
turned his warhorse to face the enemy.

An Ortarian
trumpet sounded and rang out across the plain. The heavy cavalry
started to move forward. The polished armour of the knights
shimmered as the sun shone through a gap in the clouds above. A
second trumpet sounded and the light cavalry followed.

Stella was
riding beside Red, and Meara was a little further back with
Cassiel. Baftel was standing much further back behind the lines of
archers. Eben smiled across at Red. He felt his confidence growing.
A feeling grew in his heart that was similar to how he had felt in
Lantern Hill, a sense of courage flowed through his veins.

‘
Let’s ride!’ cried Eben, drawing the Sword of Light. The
blade glimmered brightly as the light of the sun reflected on the
smooth polished metal.

Swiftwing
leapt forward, chasing after the cavalry. The pace was growing as
their horses galloped. Red and Stella were beside Eben; Cassiel and
Meara were a little further back trying to keep up. Eben stared
ahead at the line of hideous muckrons. The sound of thousands of
horses galloping was thunderous. The heavy cavalry were lowering
their lances as the line of muckrons stood ready. The muckrons were
armed with an assortment of spears, war hammers, maces, and some
carried battle-axes. Some of the muckrons wore makeshift armour and
others wore nothing at all. Their hideous hairy pig faces snarled
and growled.

The front line
of cavalry struck the line of muckrons with a mighty clash of
steel. A moment later Eben was upon them. He swung his blade and
watched a muckron fall. Swiftwing crashed through the enemy front
line. There were howls and cries all about; the scene was wild.
Eben was surrounded by monsters. He thrust his sword out again and
again. His visual field was full of foul pig faces, some with
tusks, and others with protruding fangs and drooling mouths.
Swiftwing pushed through the field of muckrons, knocking the
monsters down as he charged on.

Eben looked
back and could see Stella and Red about forty feet away, side by
side, fighting several muckrons together. Further away he could see
waves of blue flames and swirling columns of blue fire blasting
from Meara’s hands. The monsters howled and ran from her. The
cavalrymen were all about fiercely battling the monsters. Eben
swung, stabbed, and slashed as the beasts shrieked and howled at
him. The scene turned into a mad blur. The Ortarian infantry then
entered the fray. The intensity of the battle increased. Eben
parried and struck out again and again. His heart thumped like a
drum. Swiftwing reared up on his hind legs and kicked a muckron
away as Eben stabbed another.

‘
Eben!’ cried Stella’s voice from far off.

Eben turned
Swiftwing about and looked to see the wyvern descending on Cassiel
about a hundred feet away. The wyvern’s red scales glimmered in the
daylight; a menacing howl echoed out as the beast swooped downward.
Cassiel held his hands up, creating a shield, but the wyvern
crashed through the barrier and struck the young wizard, sending
him flying through the air. The wyvern leapt after him.

Eben turned
Swiftwing about and galloped across the field toward Cassiel, but
Red arrived first and stood in the wyvern’s path. Red swung his
blade. The wyvern simply struck out, and Red’s sword flew from his
hand. Red stumbled back and looked up at the large fangs of the
beast, his eyes full of shock. A moment later the wyvern grabbed
Red around his chest and lifted him up, squeezing him tightly. Red
moaned in pain as the claws buckled his armour. Stella cried out
and ran to save him, but the wyvern leapt into the air and beat its
wings.

A moment later
Eben charged into the scene as the beast flew upward. Eben leapt
from Swiftwing and grabbed onto one of the wyvern’s horns. The
enraged face and red eyes sneered. The beast whipped its head
about, trying to shake Eben off. Eben hewed down at the creature’s
arm which was holding Red; the severed arm fell away, and Red
landed in the mud below. The wyvern gave a bloodcurdling scream and
crashed into the field. Eben rolled away from the fierce beast and
quickly got to his feet, holding up the Sword of Light.

The wyvern
moaned in pain and roared in defiance. Eben dashed forward as the
wyvern leapt at him. He brought his blade down and cut through its
scales; a moment later the beast dropped, writhed on the ground,
and then fell still.

The muckrons
all backed away as Eben lifted his sword high above his head, the
daylight seemed to collect around the blade. The muckrons stumbled
back further and moaned in fear. The soldiers and cavalrymen
cheered for Eben. The remaining muckrons started to run, and
several riders chased them down. Further out there were some small
skirmishes, but the area directly around them was clearing of
muckrons as the monsters were running for their lives.

Stella went
quickly to Red’s side. He was dazed and disoriented. Cassiel limped
over a few moments later; the left side of Cassiel’s face was
covered in blood from a gash above his eyebrow.

‘
Red, are you alright?’ asked Stella. ‘Please, Red, say
something!’

‘
Stella...I think I have some broken ribs,’ muttered Red as he
opened his eyes. Stella held him close and was thankful he was
speaking.

Moments later
Meara walked over. ‘The muckron army is retreating,’ she said as
she looked out across the plain.

Eben sheathed
his sword and helped Stella to sit Red up. Meara walked over and
put her hand on Red’s shoulder. A gentle blue light emanated from
her hands, and Red suddenly looked brighter and happier.

‘
You have three broken ribs,’ said Meara. ‘This spell will
reduce the pain and help to heal you more quickly, but just because
the pain is mostly gone doesn’t mean you are free from an injury.
You should take care.’

‘
Red, I thought I was finished. You saved me from the wyvern.’
said Cassiel.

‘
Anytime,’ said Red as he stood up.

**

Eben sat in
the command tent. Red, Stella, Baftel, King Ignis, and General Hugo
were all seated around the table. Meara and Cassiel walked in to
join them, followed by two knights.

‘
Sadly we lost two thousand men, and about a thousand are
severely injured,’ said General Hugo. ‘Our riders say about a
thousand muckrons escaped north and are continuing to move away
from us. Several smaller groups of the monsters have been hunted
down by our cavalry.’

King Ignis
nodded. ‘We will give all our fallen the full burial rights and
honours that they deserve. They showed courage and gave the
ultimate sacrifice. We shall always remember the victory we had
here over the muckron horde. We will never forget those who fell in
the battle.’

‘
The heavy cavalry did the most damage to the muckrons...and
Eben.’ said General Hugo.

‘
The men are calling you the Dragon Slayer,’ said King Ignis,
looking to Eben with a proud smile. ‘I watched you riding through
the lines of muckrons. You were alone and ahead of everyone else.
They scattered at your feet. I have not seen anything like that in
all the battles I have fought.’

‘
Such things haven’t been seen since the Forgotten Age,’ said
Meara.

Eben looked
down at the Sword of Light at his side. He knew that much of his
ability came from the sword he carried.

‘
We will have to turn south soon,’ said General Hugo. ‘The
Imposter in Ancora ordered us to invade Scaldonia with only enough
food and supplies for three weeks from Galdir. We should make haste
to return to Galdir.’

‘
Galdir? No, the Zyranians will expect us to come back that
way,’ said King Ignis. ‘We will ride through the Northern Pass and
make directly for Ancora.’

‘
The draug is gone, but it would prove very difficult to take
wagons and catapults up the Sky Steps,’ said Meara.

‘
Yes, what you say is true,’ agreed King Ignis. ‘Baftel, can
you see where the muckron army is in Ortaria?’ asked the King,
looking across at the frail wizard.

‘
There is a dark shadow near Ancora, perhaps the muckron army
is there. It is difficult for me to know for sure. I have been
looking south, and I can see that the Skatheans are planning
something. They have moved from the Iron Gate Pass and away from
Galdir. They are heading eastward back toward Ancora.’

The King
scratched his beard; for a few moments he was deep in thought. ‘It
would take us about eight days to ride back to Ancora if we took
the Northern Pass. If we went through the Iron Gate Pass it would
take us an extra week.’

‘
By now the Imposter and the Zyranians would be aware that you
have taken control of the army,’ said General Hugo. ‘He would be
preparing for you to come south; that’s probably why the Skatheans
have gone east. They may also know that you killed the draug, so he
may expect us to come back through the Northern Pass. If we go
through the Iron Gate Pass, we can restock at Galdir, and clear the
villages and towns along the highway of all the tyrants and bandits
who rule them. We can sweep across Ortaria and return victoriously
to Ancora knowing that our enemies have all been
destroyed.’

‘
It’s a good plan,’ agreed King Ignis. ‘We shall vanquish all
the evil in Ortaria from west to east. We will head for
Galdir.’

**

By the evening
the army had started to prepare to move south. Meara and Cassiel
were working with the injured, healing as many as they could with
their skills. Eben, Red, and Stella worked with them assisting with
bandaging. By nightfall Meara was exhausted. They sat around a
small campfire discussing the journey south.

‘
If the muckrons are as they were here then we should do fine
in Ortaria,’ said Red.

‘
There were only seven thousand here,’ said Meara. ‘We greatly
outnumbered them. I believe they were here waiting to attack the
Ortarians after they had fought with the Scaldonians. They were
waiting for the Ortarians and Scaldonians to destroy each other;
their task was to finish off whoever was left. They never expected
the Ortarians to help the Scaldonians. If we were to fight a larger
muckron army I believe we would then learn what they are truly
capable of.’

‘
We will likely get the opportunity soon,’ said Cassiel. Meara
nodded.

All of a
sudden a small blackbird flew down and landed on Meara’s shoulder.
It sang a short sweet song and then leapt away. The bird was gone
from sight a few moments later. Meara looked into the flames of the
fire and for some time didn’t say a word.

‘
That small bird was a messenger from the Irilian Order,’ she
said. ‘I have been called to an urgent meeting in Dravania.’ They
all fell silent and stared at her. ‘I must go to the Iril Fortress
in Dravania.’

Eben felt his
heart sink at hearing these words. Meara was a great support to
their group.

‘
Must you go, Meara?’ asked Red.

‘
Yes,’ she replied regretfully. ‘Please excuse me; I will talk
with King Ignis.’ She stood up and walked away from the campfire in
the direction of the command tent. Cassiel followed after
her.

**

Later in the
evening Eben was talking with Max, Marius, and some other soldiers.
Word had spread about Eben’s bravery and skill in the battle.

‘
Eben, can we talk?’ asked Cassiel as he
approached.

‘
Of course,’ replied Eben. They walked back toward the
campfire.

‘
I have some good news; Meara has accepted me as her
apprentice. I will finish my training and eventually become an
Irilian,’ said Cassiel gladly.

‘
I’m happy to hear it,’ said Eben.

‘
Baftel will be going west with Meara.’ There was a short
silence. ‘Meara must go to Dravania; she has no choice in the
matter. A great war is raging in the kingdoms of Iarthar and
Dravania. The Irilians face a large threat, and Meara is one of the
strongest Irilians. The Irilian Order needs her now.’

‘
So what are you going to do, Cassiel?’

‘
I have decided to stay with you, Red, and Stella. I want to
stay here and finish what we started. Meara said that she will take
me to the Iril Fortress in Dravania and begin my training after the
war.’

‘
I’m glad you’re going to stay,’ said Eben, feeling
relieved.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

The army set
off early the following day. By midmorning they had reached the
basin of Orelin. The company of friends rode at the front of the
troops with King Ignis. They watched as Duke Egil rode out from the
gates of Orelin on a mighty black warhorse; he was followed closely
by ten of his knights. Their dark blue capes flew in the wind as
they galloped across the field toward the Ortarian army.

‘
I salute you, King Ignis,’ said Duke Egil as he drew
near.

‘
And I you, Duke Egil,’ said King Ignis.

‘
My scouts have told me that you destroyed the army of
muckrons and the wyvern. Consider our alliance reformed,’ said the
Duke happily.

‘
I am glad to hear it. We are now heading for the Iron Gate
Pass to liberate Ortaria,’ said King Ignis.

‘
I have eight thousand fighting men in Orelin,’ said Duke
Egil. ‘Now we will ride north and attempt to clear our northern
lands of the enemy.’