The Estian Alliance

CHAPTER 13

3rd September - The City of Te’oull - Siatol

Just like the Heynai themselves, the great protective shield was growing weaker and weaker by the hour. For the present, it was holding. But, the boundless hoards of monsters that lay behind it could not be held at bay forever. The time was fast approaching when they would be unleashed to attack the warriors of the Estian Alliance, free to rain down their destruction upon Te’oull and all the unfortunate souls who remained within its walls. It was a terrifying prospect, one daunting enough to make even the boldest of warriors flee. And yet, every single soldier in the Estian army held firm. In fact, their numbers continued to grow steadily and, far from wallowing in the depths of despair, they were in some way gripped by a sense that something wonderful, inevitable, was about to happen. And their morale was bolstered further by Princess Zephany and Lord Caro’s heroic displays of leadership, their speeches, and tales of past glories or deeds.

Away from the wall, Ben and Jean spent what little time they had before the action becoming better acquainted. The youngster from Lichfield told what stories he could of his best friend, whilst Jean listened to the adventures of her grandson and his family and friends with intense interest. It was a highly emotional time for Jean, learning all about the husband and family she thought she had lost forever. For Ben, it was no less poignant. His own family was a dysfunctional one to say the least. In truth, he only had his father and he depended more upon Jake and his parents to get by, and provide a stable family environment. Still, given all that was happening and perhaps because of the influence of Jean, he was missing his dad terribly right now, more than he would ever be able to say.

The others, Verastus, Queen Bressial, Brraall, Lord Castrad and all, had each been assigned a command by Princess Zephany on part of the wall or secondary defences. They kept themselves busy preparing their lines and organising the new recruits. Around midday, Sawdon and his vast army from Dassilliak arrived on the battlefield outside Te’oull. They were greeted by a succession of roars and high pitch cries of delight from King Vantrax’ forces. It was an awful din which terrified the defenders of Te’oull, who could hear every sound. However, one brave soul from Rhuaddan suddenly decided to sing. He was joined almost immediately by many others, in a scene Ben thought reminiscent of the film, ‘Zulu’, his favourite dvd which he had often watched with his father when he was young, before the drink and all of his troubles. The Ruddite battle songs lifted everyone’s spirits and bolstered morale. Princess Zephany walked up and down the lines encouraging her compatriots to join in, singing at the top of her voice with her sword drawn, her face and demeanour the very picture of defiance.

Sawdon entered the command tent and received reports from the revalkas. He learned quickly that a full scale probe of the shield had revealed no gaps, no weak points that could be exploited. The armies he commanded were therefore unable to advance and make contact with the enemy. It was confirmation of a fact he expected to find, but one which did not sit well with the impatient warrior. “Raarrgh! So, since the wall halted your progress you have been idle? Tell me, what have you done about this situation, apart from resting while our enemy strengthens their defences?” the Thargw raged.

The leader of the revalkas was incensed. He considered attacking the great Thargw warrior there and then, killing him where he stood for his insolence, his show of disrespect. But, he knew that King Vantrax would be furious if he did, and the evil wizard’s hold over the creatures was such that they would not dare to attack one of his servants.

Sawdon sensed his anger. “Good! Turn that venom into something useful. Think. This shield must have a power source, a point of origin. It has to be being generated from somewhere nearby. Find the source, kill the shield!”

The remainder of the nearest revalkas gathered around Sawdon as he spoke. “Send your creatures far and wide, they are no longer needed here. We are more than enough to begin the fight if the shield falls. Begin a search of every hideaway, every forest, cave, dwelling you can find. Look for anything out of the ordinary, a distortion of light, a strange glow, wind, anything… Do not waste time investigating what you find. Destroy it! We are too far south for it to be an ally, and these rachtis before and around us are all our enemy now.”

The revalkas nodded and left Sawdon alone with one of his Thargws. The great commander was happy to once again be at the head of an army on a battlefield, free from the prying eyes and constraints imposed by his master, King Vantrax, if only for a short while. He felt alive, invigorated, invincible. “Now, we wait. There are hours of daylight left. With any luck, we will be able to attack them today, end this fight. See to it that our warriors are well rested and fed. Make them ready for battle. When the time comes, I will lead the attack myself.”

* * *

Nothing was seen or heard from the revalkas for the remainder of that day and into the night. Just after midnight, an exhausted King Vantrax rode into camp alongside Melissa and his Personal Guard. The evil King took a short report from Sawdon before retiring gratefully to his bed, having forced the pace on his march to reach the battle as quickly as he could. An uneasy silence descended upon Te’oull and the valley before it.

Several miles away, over the Kielth Mountains, a lone revalkas spotted something strange in the darkness way below him. A faint light was emanating from a cave, but this was an inhospitable, remote, uninhabited region, and the fearsome beast knew immediately what it meant. It dived and swooped low overhead for a better look. The second pass was a full blown assault. Two great fireballs were launched at the cave opening, one from each of its heads.

The Heynai spirits were almost half dead by now. Their excruciating ordeal had sapped every ounce of their energy. They had clung on to life only to gain every precious second they could, to keep the shield intact, and the hopes of their people alive. Their faces had returned to a horrid blend of flesh and bone, and where there was skin, it was ghostly white. They were shaking uncontrollably and all except Sereq were groaning in agony. They had not faltered or given in to the unbearable pain. The race, the contest between them, had not been won. But that did not matter now.

Sereq, the most powerful of the spirits, sensed the attack moments before it came. He broke the circle and warned his comrades, in an uncharacteristically weak voice. “My friends, we are about to enter the afterlife together again. I will see you all on the other side.”

Before any of the other spirits could respond, the first of the fireballs smashed through the cave entrance. The flames hit the oxygen and engulfed everything. It was followed less than a second later by the second, and the great spell was broken. The shield and the Heynai were no more.

* * *

It was almost dawn at Te’oull. Ben Brooker was fast asleep, tucked up under a blanket with his thumb in his mouth as usual. All of a sudden, his sleep was interrupted by a dream unlike any other. It was so vivid and real that it was as if he was actually there. In his mind, he saw the four Heynai standing in a circle holding hands. They looked awful, horrifying actually, very worse for wear. He tried to call out to them, but they could not, or would not, hear him. So, he watched and said nothing as Sereq suddenly stepped back from the others, breaking the bond between them. The old spirit began to talk briefly, but Ben could not hear what was being said. Then, almost immediately, a bright red fire engulfed everything there. The flames were so close to him that Ben could actually feel the heat. His arms lifted up instinctively to protect himself, and he awoke, screaming.

“No!!!”

Ben realised immediately the significance of what had just happened. Within seconds, Verastus was at his side. “What? What is it, Ben?”

Ben took a moment or two to calm himself. His heart was now pounding furiously in his chest and his breathing was heavy. After a short while, he looked Verastus in the eye. “Oh hell!” he stated, his face full of dread. “We’re in for it now. The spirits have been cooked. The barrier’s down!”

* * *

On the other side of the valley, on the fields in front of the city and behind the Heynai’s wall, King Vantrax was also fast asleep. A tremendous, heart wrenching, searing, vicious pain woke him. He clutched his hand to his chest and screamed out in anguish. Everyone came running to see if they could help. Nytig reached him first, but the King pushed him away. He was desperate to speak but he just could not get his words out. He tried and tried to tell them what he had to say until he was blood red in the face, but the pressure on his chest was so great that it was all he could do to breathe. Everyone thought he was going to die. It was if he had had a seizure and it lasted a good few minutes. But, eventually the pain abated and he began to feel himself again, extremely relieved that his lungs were able to capture the oxygen they needed, and painfully aware that it had been a very, very close call.

Vantrax finally looked up from his bed at Sawdon and Melissa. Where once there was a grimace of pain, there now developed an evil smile. “Recall the revalkas right now. That which blocks our path to glory has been destroyed. And so have those who would thwart me!”

Melissa looked at Sawdon and then back at her King, amazed and excited by the news. “You… You are certain, sire?”

The evil wizard looked a little disappointed in her. He nodded. “Yes, I am positive. What? Do you think I am lying? Go, go prepare for war!”

Melissa left and the King turned to his Thargw Gerada. “Sawdon, I have protected you far too much of late. If this little episode has shown me anything, it is that our time is now. You are far more valuable to me commanding from the front, where your true talents can be utilised. Though, I want you far enough from the fighting to be able to make command decisions. You must show a little constraint and learn the lessons of Erriard forest, you hear me?

Now, you are to take this city at first light. Destroy everything and everyone you find. Wipe it from the map. We have them where we want them, trapped within the walls with nowhere to go. We have forces with us now that will ensure our victory, obliterate them all. It has been said before, but let us finally end this war once and for all!”

* * *

In the final few hours before daylight, King Artrex and the spirit of Gerada Knesh Corian at last approached the valley before Te’oull. As they crested the final ridge, the vast armies of King Vantrax stretched out ahead of them, across the fields as far as the eye could see in the fading moonlight. Both warriors were unmoved by the daunting sight. They were experienced rebels used to facing impossible odds and they had expected to see such a force. But, Knesh Corian was troubled by one thing, his mind working as rapidly in death as it had in life.

“Raar! We are on the wrong side of them to be of any use, sire. Their armies lie between us and the Princess. We will not be able to break through to Te’oull in time. If we had another few hours, maybe? We could use the darkness if that were the case and sneak through. But it will soon be light, they will see us… Well, you at any rate.”

King Artrex sighed heavily in exasperation. He knew that his old friend was right, as usual. “What shall we do then? How do we help?”

“There is nothing else for it. We will camp here, under the branches of that old tree. That way their beasts will not see us. Hopefully, tonight, we will have better luck. The shield should hold until then. When darkness falls again, we will make our move. After all, whilst the spirits protect them, all those defending Te’oull are safe from attack.”