Wielder's Fate (30 page)

He quickly made his way down from the wall and strode along the main avenue that led west into the city.  The large avenue would soon be crawling with galdaks, but for now it was still firmly under the control of the Kalian Army.  The tops of the buildings that lined the avenue on both sides were full of concealed archers.  Blaize glanced up at the roofs and was happy to find that he couldn’t see any sign of them.

The sides of the street were piled with loose debris and covered in flammable liquids.  When it was time, the sides of the street would be lit, illuminating the invading army.  The light would blind the galdaks and would make them clearly visible targets for the archers.  The creatures would be taken completely by surprise.

Three other large avenues were prepared in the same fashion: archers on top and flammable debris along the bases of the buildings.  The four streets were thus prepared for a full ten blocks into the city.  The galdaks would be funneled into these large avenues.  When the designated areas were completely full of the creatures, the debris would be lit, and the archers would rain death from above.

On either side of each of the four main avenues, small streets were fortified and guarded to maintain a safe means of escape for the archers when the second retreat signal was given.  The first phase of the retreat would then be completed.  The galdak horde should effectively be confused and debilitated.

The majority of the Kalian cavalry would then thunder in from the north and south and cut off the galdak army at the edge of the city.  The rest of the horsemen would sweep down the large avenues and finish off the remaining galdaks trapped there.  The cavalry would form the rearguard and keep the galdaks at bay while the rest of the army evacuated the city and made its way south.  When the soldiers were clear of the city, the cavalry would disengage from the galdaks and join the army on the march to Kavar.

Blaize finished traversing the first ten blocks of the main avenue and rounded the large barricade that had been set up.  He walked over to his horse and checked to make sure everything was tight and secure.  He trusted all would go smoothly with his plan.  It was direct and simple.  However, should the army need to retreat quicker than expected, he wanted to be ready.

Having satisfied himself that all was in order, Blaize climbed to the top of the barricade and peered down the street.  It was hard to see much in the blackness of night, but it appeared that the galdaks were still only just beginning to enter the city.  Kalian soldiers began streaming past the barricade below him as they continued to fall back.  It wasn’t long before the galdaks had pushed themselves five blocks into the city.  It was hard to see them, but their growls and shouts became increasingly loud as more and more poured inside the walls.

When the galdaks began nearing the barricades at the end of the ten city blocks, the signal was given and the streets were set ablaze.  The remaining soldiers disengaged from the battle and vacated the streets as fast as they possibly could.  Within moments, the entire length of the road was lit with flames.  The surprised galdaks began to fall by the hundreds as the archers sent volley after volley down into their midst.

The galdaks’ howls of excitement changed to ones of rage and pain.  The first wave of galdaks reached the base of the barricade and was easily cut down by the nearby archers.  Blaize glanced to the north and south.  He couldn’t see the neighboring streets from his position, but he could see the flickering lights of the flames that had been lit along them.  If all was going as smoothly on the other streets, the retreat would be highly successful.

He returned his attention to the large avenue in front of him.  The galdaks were confused and disoriented in the bright light of the flames.  They continued falling by the hundreds as they fruitlessly searched for a way to fight their attackers.  As the creatures fell, more continued streaming into the city to take their places.  The dark red corpses began piling up all along the avenue.  Despite their frenzy to get past the barricade, none of the galdaks that happened to reach the end of the avenue made it further than half way up.

After awhile, the volley of arrows began to noticeably lessen and more and more galdaks began reaching the base of the barricade.  It was obvious that many of the archers were beginning to run out of arrows.  Blaize waited a little while longer and then gave the signal.  It was repeated and sent to the leaders of the cavalry stationed to the north and south of the city gate.

Blaize counted slowly in his head until he was certain the cavalry would have reached the gate.  He then gave the second signal.  All arrows ceased as a small group of cavalry burst through the edge of the barricade and began sweeping down the avenue towards the gate.  They effectively cut down the remaining galdaks on their way to join the main body of horsemen fighting outside the city.

Blaize climbed down from his perch atop the barricade and mounted his horse.  Already some of the archers were beginning to stream out of the side streets and head for their rendezvous points towards the heart of the city.  They saluted as they passed him.  Blaize returned several salutes before turning and riding past the barricade with five other horsemen.  He wanted to check on the progress of the battle outside the city walls before joining with the foot soldiers as they began retreating south.

The large avenue seemed alien as he picked his way through the red corpses of the galdaks.  The flickering flames, piled bodies, and groaning of the dying made the previously empty avenue seem as if it were a nightmarish replica of the underworld.  Blaize never took joy in seeing so much destruction, but he was satisfied to see almost no human bodies among the carnage.  The first part of his plan had been successful.

As he neared the gate of the city, the sounds of battle began raging in his ears once more.  The horsemen who had cleared the avenue were vigilantly guarding what had been the city gate, preventing any galdaks from passing.  When he reached them, Blaize swung down from his horse and quickly made his way to the top of the wall.  He watched as the Kalian cavalry swept back and forth through the sea of galdak warriors from numerous locations.

He waited with his arms crossed as he patiently watched the battle below him.  Soon, messengers assigned to the three other large avenues began arriving.  All reported success similar to the avenue he had observed.  He glanced one more time at the battle raging outside the city and descended the stairs.  He was satisfied that the disciplined cavalry would keep the galdaks occupied long enough for the soldiers on foot to vacate the city.  The horsemen would then be able to speed away and rejoin the army without any problems.

Blaize remounted his horse and hurried back down the main avenue.  Several buildings had caught on fire, but most were untouched.  It was a still night, and he hoped the flames would die quickly.  At least they wouldn’t spread to any other sections of the city.

Then again, he had no idea what the galdaks would do once they took control of the city.  Perhaps the citizens of Candus would be lucky, and the galdaks would leave the city intact.  He supposed it was possible the horde would immediately follow the army, and Candus would remain untouched.  However, as much as he hoped the beautiful city would be spared, he doubted the galdaks would comply with his wishes.

He passed the barricade and left the heat and light of the flames behind him.  Blaize continued towards the heart of the city and turned south upon reaching the palace.  Glancing at the magnificent structure, he wondered if it would still be as grand by the following night.  It was tragic to think of what might soon become of the tranquil and silent city.

Blaize shook his head and hurried towards the southern gate of the city with a grimace.  No matter how one looked at it, the reality of war was destruction.  Whether it be the destruction of buildings, ideas, or life, war always left destruction in its wake.

24

Traven carefully rose to his feet, keeping his wooden spear pointed towards the thick fog in front of him.  Nothing was visible in the swirling darkness, but he knew what he had just heard.  He waited tensely for another sign of what animal was hiding in the fog.  He took a careful step forward to allow himself more room to maneuver if whatever was waiting in the fog chose to attack.  All was silent except for his own breathing.  The thick blanket of fog swirling around him seemed to deaden sound as well as sight.

Traven waited tensely for what seemed like forever, but the creature didn’t manifest itself.  He began to wonder if his size had scared the creature away and if it was safe for him to sit back down.  His erroneous thought disappeared instantly as he made out a large shadow hurling through the air towards him.

Time froze and the particles in the thick fog immediately prepared to obey his commands.  His mind quickly assessed the situation with blazing speed.  Frozen in the air directly in front of him were the wide open jaws of a giant mountain cat.  The creature was almost completely white with black tufts on its pointed ears and a black tuft on its chin.  Its head was at least twice the size of his own, and its teeth glistened like small ivory daggers.

He was about to form a shield but stopped as he remembered the rules of the trial.  No magic was allowed.  The thought almost seemed laughable at the moment.  He could use magic and live, or he could follow the rules of the trial and end up with his throat ripped out.  As far as he knew, no one would know if he had used magic or not.  Then again, he had agreed to the rules and given his word.  Darian had said that only an honest man could enter the Cave of Eternal Flame and complete the trial with his mind intact.

His mind continued racing as time almost imperceptibly moved forward.  He quickly rethought his situation.  He had to keep his word if he hoped to be able to save the hundreds of thousands of humans depending on him.  As he had already decided, risking his life was worth the chance to save so many others.  The large mountain cat was now slightly closer to him and appeared to be going directly for his throat.

It appeared he did have a chance to avoid the beast’s jaws.  He was standing in a defensive position with his wooden spear gripped firmly in front of him.  All he needed to do was slightly shift the point of the spear to the left to catch the mountain cat’s shoulder.  If he did it quickly enough and with enough force, the cat would be thrown off its intended trajectory and its jaws would miss him.  It was his only chance without using the ambience, and he decided to take it.

Time came rushing back.  Traven yanked the spear over as fast and as hard as he could.  The tip of it lodged into the flying cat’s shoulder.  The force was so great that it caused the wooden spear to snap in two.  Traven braced himself as the cat’s momentum carried its gaping mouth forward just to the side of him.  The large animal’s flank slammed into him, knocking him sideways into the boulder.

The mountain cat screamed with rage and pain from the wound in its shoulder and thrashed sideways, trying to get at Traven.  He positioned the shaft of his spear between himself and the beast and tried his best to stay away from its mouth and claws.  The space between the two boulders was narrow enough that the large cat couldn’t turn around.  Traven continued to use the shaft defensively as he slid along one side and tried to get out of the narrow space.  The thrashing cat repeatedly slammed him against the hard boulder as he worked his way free.  He pushed back with his broken spear several times until he finally made it past the savage animal.

He knew he couldn’t outrun the mountain cat, so he quickly picked up a large rock as the animal backed its way out into the open as well.  The large beast turned towards him snarling.  Its white fur was matted with scarlet blood streaming from its shoulder where the broken end of his spear was still firmly lodged.  Traven stood his ground and faced the giant cat.  He was ready to launch the rock forcefully if the beast attempted to move in his direction and still had the shaft of his spear gripped tightly in his other hand.

The mountain cat eyed him carefully as if trying to decide if it wanted to fight or not.  Traven hoped the animal had been weakened by its wound and would choose to leave.  If not, he was ready to fight back.  He was now fairly sure he would survive the encounter but was worried about what injuries he might sustain if the cat attacked again.  His reflexes were fast but not as fast as the deadly animal.

The mountain cat let out a vicious scream.  Traven wanted to run, but he refused to flinch.  He hoped his posture and size would be enough to deter the wounded animal from trying to attack again.  The cat stared at him for several more tense moments before turning with a low growl and striding off into the fog.

Traven let out a large sigh of relief and reached out with his senses.  If the cat tried to double back on him, he needed to have warning.  Thankfully, the large animal appeared to truly be leaving the area.  Traven moved back to the boulder and leaned against it with a wince.  His thick coat had prevented him from being injured too badly against the boulder, but he could feel fresh bruises up and down his body.  His left hand and the side of his face had been scraped badly, and his shoulder was very sore.  He supposed he was lucky to have walked away without more serious injuries but was not looking forward to a hard day of climbing.  His body already ached all over.

The foggy air was getting lighter, and he decided he might as well begin the day’s climb.  His aching muscles longed for rest, but he didn’t think he would be able to fall back to sleep with the sudden attack so fresh in his mind and his body so full of adrenaline.  He made his way over to the nearby stream and knelt down next to it.  After cleaning the cuts on his hand and face in the icy water, he leaned down and quenched his thirst.

He then stood and began following the stream as he had the previous day.  The way continued to steepen as the sky lightened.  He stayed vigilant of his surroundings but luckily didn’t sense any more large animals.  The fog eventually began to thin, and then suddenly he was out of it completely.  He paused and took a deep breath of the clear, crisp air.