5/2 The Rose Pendant

The march from Talesgard to Kewil took two weeks. Finskar Caldon, the fifth Commander of the Number Knights, had made frequent stops so as not to tire his army. He was bringing more than half of his army, along with the new recruits to Kewil. Many villagers he passed along the highway to Kewil cheered for him. However, there were some who did not like war show their feelings by protesting for him to stop. Finskar ignored them. He was a lover of warfare. This was part of the reason he chose to abandon his native state, the Reachlands and joined King Rinas in his path of conquest. King Tinskaeth of the Reachlands did not like his ideals so he removed him from command of the elven army. Despite his hatred for the enemy, he was kind and respectful to his own army, unlike Kiltsa Ulcar, the Third Commander who was cruel and inhuman to friend or foe. It was this love of warfare and hatred for the enemy that made him a Number Knight today.

When Kewil finally came to sight, it was almost in ruins. The southern walls were damaged by stone catapults used by the Desert Border Alliance when they took Kewil from Kiltsa. The alliance had built wooden fences around those broken walls and fixed the damaged gate. There were three types of flags flying within the city. The nearest flag with an eagle and a shield was the state of Mansfield, just across from the River Sovil. The other one with a bright red flag with two double-handled axes by the sides of a sword was the Red Vale Country, a state beside Mansfield. The last one with a silver helmet in a background of blue belonged to the Roamlands, the strongest among the Desert Border Alliance Country. Finskar could felt the watchtower calling to their commander as his army approached the gates. He brought them to a halt about a kilometer away from the castle walls. All was quiet safe for the sound from his horse hooves. He waited.

About two minutes later, the city gates opened and a man rode out to face him. The man who rode out on a black mare wore a suit of iron armor with blood stains on it. He wore a close helmet with a yellow bandanna round it. In his hand was a double-handled axe, which was also covered in blood stains. He rode outside of his gate for about two meters before he stopped. Archers stretched their bows and lie in wait at the open gate and behind the walls. Finskar rode out to meet him.

“I bring words from the great conqueror king, Rinas.” Finskar said. “Surrender now or be prepared to perish.”

The man behind the helmet gave a laugh. “We the Desert Border Alliance have defeated a Number Knight and taken his city. Now another foolish one threatens me. I, Vayne Gorhor, am not afraid of the likes of you.”

“So be it.” Finskar was a man of few words. So too was Vayne. Both of them headed back to their lines to prepare for a battle.

Finskar returned to the frontlines of his army. He unsheathed his mighty two-handed sword with his right hand and gave a resounding shout to his men.

“Forward!” Finskar shouted as he led the line towards the army. The fifth Army responded by charging forward, spears pointing forward and swords thirsty for blood. Vinon and Carlem were among those in the first row. Finskar noticed them. Carlem was anxious as she gripped her spear tightly. Vinon was more focused and determined. He saw Vinon said some encouraging words to Carlem and Carlem took a deep breath. Both of them were ready.

As the fifth Army charged forward, the defense of the city replied by showering them with a rainfall of arrows. Any normal battalion will be decapitated if they were not equipped with shields. Despite the lack of shields by the fifth Army, they were protected by a strong barrier. The magic-users at the back of the army had cast a spell to protect the advancing men. Arrows bounced of the barrier as if they were a shield.

From the city walls, Vayne Gorhor saw that the arrows had no effect on the army and instead informed his catapults to get ready to fire. He saw Finskar’s plan. The main army advancing was to act as a decoy while the magic-users attack the walls. He will counterattack them with his catapults since his archers could not fire that far.
The first catapult began firing its first shot. It was a huge burning rock. As it flew through the air, it shattered and exploded upon impact with a fireball coming from the back of the fifth Army. Puzzled, Vayne scouted the battlefield for an answer.

The fifth Army was firing fireballs from their ranks. Vayne could not see any catapult in Finskar’s army and he guessed this must be the work of magic. By now, the advancing spearmen had reached the walls of the city and are scaling it with ladders. Another unit was advancing towards the city gates. Vayne got a shock when he saw bolts of lightning coming from the ranks and realized that they were trying to break the city gates to gain entry into the city.

Vinon and Carlem were with the unit attacking the gate. As they were new recruits, they were not instructed to cast magic but to protect the magic-users. Patiently they waited. When the gate do finally shattered, the unit gave a cheer and began approaching the gate. Suddenly, Vinon heard screaming sounds around him. The sounds began from the front and it traveled through the ranks. Through the smoke and debris, he could make out flying bodies and broken spears. What had just happened, he thought.

When the dust settled, Vinon realized what had happened. As the gate collapsed and they charged in, a large wooden bolt was fired at them. Since he and Carlem were close to right flank of the unit, they were spared. Others not so fortunate were wiped out instantly. The barrier cast around them had disappeared. Vinon looked behind and saw that some of the magic-users were injured and unable to cast any spells. As he turned back, they were swarmed by a large group of alliance warriors. They were outnumbered and in danger of being wiped out. He expected his captain to sound a retreat but there was none. Many of the spearmen that attacked the gates turned and fled. Only a handful stayed to fight the impossible fight.

Carlem was scared too but she did not flee. She followed Vinon and stayed by his side. Vinon met the attack with great intensity. He fell a few sword-wielding alliance soliders. Carlem followed suit and fell a solider. However, they were pinned back by the attack. Vinon saw the instrument that fired the bolt that almost wiped out the unit. About a hundred metres away, there was a massive giant arrow launcher. Moreover, they had reloaded the bolt and aiming at them again. His heart skipped a beat when he heard the sound of Finskar’s battle cry from behind him. If the bolt was allowed to fire again, Finskar could be killed and the battle will be lost.

Vinon weighted in his options. There was no chance to inform Finskar. If he did that, the launcher would have fired before he even reached Finskar. He decided that he had to stop the launcher by himself. He would use the quickening spell he had mastered.

“Cover me, Carlem!” Vinon said to his sister. “I am going to destroy that launcher.”

“You will never make it.” Carlem said as she thrust her spear into the heart of an attacker.

“Watch me.” Vinon cast a spell that he had discovered, the quickening spell. He felt his body becoming lighter and his senses becoming sharper. He noticed a solider dressed in the colors of Mansfield instructing his men to target Finskar, who was almost reaching the city gates now. He rushed to the catapult and began attacking the men. He hoped he could make it in time.

Finskar reached the gate just as the dust began to settle. He saw the gigantic bolt fly out from the city gates the moment the city gates were destroyed. He had to destroy the instrument that almost decimated his troops. However, his way was blocked by the alliance that swarmed over the surviving but morale-less soliders. He saw Carlem fighting valiantly against some alliance soliders and began to scout for the weapon. When he finally saw the giant arrow launcher, he was shocked to see it pointing at him. However, a second later, he saw Vinon appeared on the platform. Within the blink of an eye, Vinon thrust his spear through two soliders who were getting ready to pull the trigger. The other three soliders started attacking Vinon upon realizing it. Vinon instead struck them down and Finskar noticed that his movement seemed to be at an increased speed. Within a few seconds, Vinon was left standing alone on the platform. He gave a loud roar, with his spear rose.

Finskar was surprised. The use of magic by Vinon was amazing. But how did he do it? Not only did he save his life through that use of spell, he had also turned the tide of the battle.

Finskar knocked a nearby alliance solider down with the hilt of his sword and began cutting a path towards Vinon. By the time he reached him, he noticed Vinon was breathing heavily. He must have exhausted himself using the spell. Before he could ask him about the spell, he noticed someone trying to strike Vinon down. Finskar blocked the attack and beckoned Vinon to move away. Vinon obeyed without fail.

The figure withdrew the double-handled axe. It was Vayne Gorhor, the commander of the alliance troops at Kewil. Finskar knew defeating him would win the battle of Kewil. Vayne knew if he can defeat Finskar he would win the battle. Both men paused for a moment and came at each other with great ferocity that sparks appeared the moment their blades connected. Vayne went for Finskar’s head which the latter ducked. Finskar thrusted his sword towards Vayne’s exposed torso but his attack was parried by Vayne’s axe. Vayne attempted a vertical slash, again aiming for Finskar’s head. Finskar dodged and backed away.

As they continued to trade blows, Finskar realized Vayne’s attacking patterns. Vayne was not actually going for his head. Instead Vayne’s attacks were all to prevent him from chanting incarnations so that he will be unable to use spells against him. Moreover, he was a stronger fighter than Finskar was and without him knowing it, Vayne was slowly gaining an edge over him. His fears were confirmed when a heavy attack knocked the two-handed sword from his hands. As Vayne was about to deal a final blow, he found his eyes being hit in the face with a small fireball. Seeing this opponent temporarily blinded, Finskar seized this opportunity and slashed the alliance commander’s throat with his sword.

Finskar watched the commander breathed his last, before breathing a sign of relief. He turned behind to see who fired the fireball that blinded Vayne. It was Vinon. Finskar patted the young man’s shoulders. “You did well,” Finskar smiled. “You did very well.”

The battle was over soon. With the fall of Vayne, the alliance troops began retreating from the city. By the end of the day, the entire city was liberated from the Desert Border Alliance. The fifth Army’s victory was complete.

That same night, Finskar was about to ask Vinon about the spell he had cast at the city gates but was interrupted by a messenger who came to him with a scroll bearing the king’s emblem. It reads, “Reinforcements will arrive within a week. Use this momentum to attack Presdrag and seal the fate of Mansfield.”