Assault on Ebonhawke
"Scipio!" a voice shouted, Get up!"
Scipio Sagittarius regained his consciousness to see Sergeant Eli Peregrine shaking him to wake up. He looked around, still dazed from being knocked back by the mortar blast. Scipio's ears were still ringing. All he could see were Sergeant Eli's soft face, her brown eyes, and black hair. And then the shock left him.
"Scipio!" she shouted at him again, "Commander Samuelsson is calling the rangers back to Ebonhawke! Let's go!"
Sergeant Eli led a dozen rangers into Sniper's Woods that morning to investigate a report that Human Separatists were gathering for a large-scale operation. It turns our that the reports were correct, mostly. They were gathering for a large-scale operation, but not in the woods. It turned out that the separatists were expecting the Ebon Vanguard to send a large force to sweep the woods, where they would be caught by an ambush, while the rest of the separatists attacked Ebonhawke fortress, which would be marginally less defended.
What happened instead was that the Ebon Vanguard did not commit a large force, but a small team of elite rangers who knew the forest well. The ambush backfired, with the rangers tracking down and neutralizing hidden separatists. And then the bells of Ebonhawke started ringing. The fortress was under attack.
That was the signal. Even more separatists came out of the woods, forcing the rangers to retreat. The twelve took cover in the ruined Charr heavy tanks, holding off the separatist forces with expert use of their longbows.
They caused half a hundred separatist casualties at the cost of two rangers. That when they heard Charr mortars firing their shells in the distance. The barrage hit the Ebon Vanguard Rangers and the separatists. The Charr Renegades were going to attack as well.
"Run!" ordered Eli, pulling Scipio back up to his feet. "Back to the Hawkgates!" she shouted as she started running, leaving Scipio.
"My raven," Scipio mumbled, "Aya!"
A large black raven flew to Scipio and landed on his shoulder.
"Good girl," Scipio told the raven, "Fly to the walls. I don't need your help now. Go!"
The raven took flight, and Scipio started running, following the fleeing rangers. More mortarfire was heard in the distance.
Three rangers were killed by the mortar barrage. The remaining seven, Eli and Scipio included ran as fast as they could.
"Halt!" ordered Eli, pointing at a group of separatists, armed with swords, hammers, and axes, running up the road to the Hawkgates.
There were eight separatists. The seven rangers drew arrows from their quivers.
"Nock!" Eli shouted, nocking an arrow to the bowstring as the separatists ran toward them.
"Draw and Loose!"
Scipio, Eli, and the rangers quickly pulled the strings of their longbows and let loose, releasing seven deadly armor-piercing arrows at the separatists.
Seven arrows loosed, and seven separatists killed.
The last one charged on, his eyes set on Eli, only a few feet away. Eli quickly pulled a knife out from its sheath and threw it at the separatist. The knife's blade found it's mark in the separatist's throat. Eli kicked the separatist down and left him to die before continuing on.
They ran up to the Hawkgates, where several separatists were clashing with Ebon Vanguard soldiers. The Vanguard troops were donned in their black armor, accented with gold. The heavy infantry wore chain and plate, and the archers wore leather.
The rangers drew their melee weapons, some had one-handed shortswords or longswords, throwing axes, or daggers. Scipio had a half-and-half greatsword with a black hilt and guard, with gold accents and a shining steel blade, while Eli held a similarly patterend longsword on one hand, and a dagger on the other.
The rangers closed the distance and took the separatists unaware. Scipio thrust his greatsword into a separatist's belly, and quickly pulled it out to make a powerful two-handed downward slash on another separatist who had wounded an Ebon Vanguard soldier. His attack smashed through the separatist's shoulder, the sword going all the way down from the shoulder to the nipple area.
Scipio pulled out the blade and kicked the separatist down to see that the entire group of separatists were dead or dying.
The lieutenant in command of the Vanguard troops at the gate thanked the rangers for their timely assistance.
"Sergeant Peregrine," the lieutenant called. He was wearing heavy Ascalonian chain armor, hiding his features under the helmet.
"Lieutenant," Sergeant Eli saluted, "What's the situation, sir?"
"Separatists assaulted the postern gate with a large number of troops," the lieutenant reported, "They got a good number through before we sealed the gate and got the arrow carts zeroed in. After that, every separatist and sympathizer in the city took up arms and joined the attack."
"How long until we can close the Hawkgates?" asked the sergeant.
The lieutenant looked up at the gates.
"Several separatists rushed up the walls and took the gate from our sentries. We sent reinforcements, but we don't know how long until we can regain control the gates."
"We'll go and take back the gate winches," Eli volunteered.
"No, sergeant," the lieutenant denied, "You and what's left of your team will help us hold the Hawkgates until they are closed."
"Yes, sir," Eli complied, "but what about the rest of the city?"
"The Fallen Angels and the rest of the Vanguard can deal with them," assured the lieutenant, "It's our job to make sure the ones inside don't get any reinforcements."
"Lieutenant!" shouted one of the Vanguard archers, "More separatists advancing toward the Hawkgates!"
"Stand firm! Archers, you are under Sergeant Peregrine's command!" the lieutenant called out, "Sergeant, form up in front of the heavy infantry and take out as many as you can!"
The sergeant saluted.
"Rangers and Archers of the Vanguard, with me! Form up!" Sergeant Eli called.
"Vanguard!" addressed the Lieutenant, "Form shield wall!"
The Vanguard heavy infantry formed a tight shield formation, spearmen in front, with swords behind.
The rangers and archers positioned themselves in a line in front of the heavy infantry.
The separatists charged up the ramp.
"Nock!" Eli shouted, and the archers nocked their arrows.
"Draw!"
"Loose!"
Several arrows flew at the horde of separatist attackers, killing several of them in an instant, and slowing them down as the others tripped and pushed the dead aside
"Nock!"
"Draw!"
"Loose!"
Another volley, and the advance was stalled. Some began to turn tail and run.
The separatists were unarmored and had little room for tactics; to reach the Hawkgates, they had to run up a long, relatively narrow ramp, wide enough for one large carriage. The Ebon Vanguard Archers only had to point their bows down the ramp and loose volley after volley at foes as they ascended.
The separatist assault was halted, and the survivors ran back down the ramp. In the distance, more separatists gathered around the ramp. A few moments later, they resumed the assault, this time with large, makeshift shields.
The archers loosed their bows, but the separatists formed a shield wall of their own. Most of the arrows hit the shields, penetrating them, but not enough to kill the men behind them. The separatists put down the damaged shields and replaced them with new shields.
"Aim higher! Loose!"
Another volley was loosed, and this time the arrows flew over the shields and into the men behind the shield-bearers. The advance was slowed somewhat, but then the separatists ordered the extra shields be raised.
"Damn it," cursed Sergeant Eli, "Keep loosing arrows! Those shields are flimsy; the arrows will go through at some point!"
Arrows were released at will, and several indeed broke through the wood and wounded or killed a few separatists.
Several rifle-armed separatists popped out of the shield-turtle and fired on the Vanguard soldiers.
Some of the shots were off their marks, but the bullets that did hit were hard, killing or disabling a few archers on contact, while disorienting the rest.
"Steady!" Eli called out.
"Sergeant!" shouted the lieutenant, "They're closing the distance! Fall back!"
"Archers," Eli ordered, "Withdraw!"
As the archers withdrew behind the heavy infantry, the separatists broke formation and charged at the Hawkgates.
"Stand fast!" the lieutenant barked, "Today, we are the walls of Ebonhawke!"
The separatist rabble smashed into the Ebon Vanguard shield wall, but the Vanguard troops were armored and had their thick shields braced. The separatists did not daze them. The Vanguard replied with the thrusting of spears, the first two lines forming a phalanx of spears, killing several separatists with thrusts and jabs.
"Push!" ordered the lieutenant, and the Vanguard troops stepped forward, still bracing their shields. The separatists staggered back a few steps.
"Throw spears!"
The Vanguard spearmen flipped their grip on their spears and hurled them at the separatists. Several more of the rebels died.
"Swords!"
The front lines of Vanguard troops drew their short swords, while the rest stood ready with swords already drawn.
"Advance!"
They marched forward, keeping their formation, pushing the disorganized rebel troops back. The front line bashed with their shields separatist fighters who got in their way, and followed up with quick thrusts with their shortswords, stabbing the stunned separatists repeatedly.
"Archers, volley!" shouted the lieutenant.
Scipio, Eli, and the rest of the archers let loose a volley of arrows above the Vanguard heavy infantry, and the arrows found their marks on the wavering separatist assault.
"Break formation! Finish them! For Ebonhawke! And Ascalon!"
"Ascalon!" the Vanguard troops chanted and cheered.
The Vanguard troops broke their shield wall and charged into the separatists while shouting their war cries. Their resolve shattered immediately, and the separatists broke and ran.
"They retreat! Victory is ours!"
The Vanguard soldiers cheered as the Separatist forces ran back to their hastily constructed siege camps.
The cheering came to an abrupt halt, however, as mortars began bombarding the separatist forces. The sounds of screaming and explosions drowned out the siege plains as a force of Charr renegades appeared on the crest of the hill. Large, horned, feline people, the Charr are born and bred for war. The renegades may have broken off from the Legions of the Black Citadel, who were currently negotiating the peace treaty with Ebonhawke, but the renegades were still Charr with the same training and skill. Still deadly.
With a mighty war cry, the Charr renegades charged down the hill, swooping across the distraught and broken separatist forces.
It was a massacre; the separatists were annihilated by the organized and well-armed Charr renegades.
"Lieutenant!" called a voice from behind Scipio. It was Wade Samuelsson, commander of the Ebon Vanguard.
"Sir," the lieutenant started, "The Separatists are routed, but the Charr are moving to assault the gates."
"I know, soldier," Samuelsson replied, "I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to hold them off a while longer."
"Sir, those are Charr-"
"I know, lieutenant. We need more time. The Separatists have been cleared from the streets, but most of them made for the walls, and they sabotaged the gate winches. I just need you to hold the Hawkgates for a few more minutes. Keep Ascalon in your heart; this fortress will stand, as it has stood for hundreds of years."
"Yes, sir! For Ebonhawke! And Ascalon!"
"For Ascalon!" echoed the soldiers.
"I'll leave a few more men here as reinforcements. The arrow carts on the wall will be loaded and ready soon. Hold the Hawkgates, lieutenant."
Commander Samuelsson took several of his men with him and ran back to the walls.
"You heard the man!" shouted the lieutenant, "Hold the Hawkgates!"
Eli and Scipio were joined by several more rangers from the Ebonhawke garrison.
The heavy infantry quickly formed their formation again in front of the Hawkgates. The rest formed up in the courtyard directly behind the Hawkgates to fight off any breakthrough.
By now, the Charr renegades had finished butchering the remnants of the Separatist force and began advancing on the Hawkgates.
"Ebonhawke has been besieged for years! No assault has ever breached the walls or the Hawkgates!" bragged a Vanguard archer.
"Except the Hawkgates were closed shut during those assaults," Scipio retorted.
"Form up!" Eli ordered.
"Stand fast!" the lieutenant rallied, "Here they come!"
"For Ascalon!" A few soldiers shouted.
"Ascalon!" responded the rest of the Ebon Vanguard.
A volley of arrows from the walls of Ebonhawke flew down to the Renegade forces; the renegades responded with wild rifle and pistol fire.
The Charr shouted as they charged into the Vanguard formation, the Charr, being significantly heavier and quite larger than humans, smashed through the formation, knocking down several Vanguard soldiers to the ground.
"Break!" the lieutenant ordered.
The Vanguard troops broke formation, and engaged the Charr.
The archers had no chance to launch any arrows, as the Charr broke through the first line and advanced into the courtyard. The fighting quickly developed into a disorganized and chaotic slog.
The clash of steel, the smoke from gunpowder, the spilling of blood were everywhere. Shields were banged and smashed, pistols were fired, and swords swung. War had come to Ebonhawke once again.
"Rangers, charge!" ordered Eli.
Scipio and the rest followed Eli into the fray. Scipio ran forward into the melee and brought his sword down into a Charr's skull, killing him instantly. Scipio then turned to parry an attack from a Charr swordsman.
The Charr were fearsome and ferocious in battle. They had no fear, or at least never showed it. They would fight to the bitter end if ordered to.
Scipio's opponent doubled back as Scipio made a sidewards slash at the Charr. The renegade parried Scipio's attacks well, until the Charr was struck in the back by a throwing axe. He howled in pain before Scipio finished him.
"Sarge!" Scipio shouted, seeing Eli about to be attacked from behind. Eli turned and threw her dagger at the Charr behind her, to little effect, while Scipio moved to assist her.
The Charr swung his axe at Eli, who dodged the blow. As Eli positioned herself to counter-attack, the Charr renegade pulled out a pistol with his other hand and fired just as Scipio jumped in to cut the Charr's hand off.
"Ah!" Eli cried out. She was hit. Scipio carried her up and slowly moved her out of the combat.
"I got you!" Scipio assured her.
Another Charr moved to block Scipio's path, seeing him and Eli as easy kills. The Charr pushed Scipio down, causing him to drop Eli. Scipio gave a loud whistle.
The Charr laughed and raised his axe, at the same time stepping on Scipio's chest to keep him from rolling.
Scipio drew his dagger and drove it into the Charr's ankle, causing the Charr to stagger back, angry. He kept his axe raised to finish Scipio, but Scipio had rolled out of the way by the time he smashed his axe down. He growled and again tried to hit Scipio, but before he could strike, a large raven attacked the Charr, clawing at his face.
Scipio took a spear from the ground and thrust it into the Charr's throat.
"Good girl, Aya!" Scipio muttered as he took the dead Charr's pistol.
He found Eli crawling on the ground, with the corpses of both Humans and Charr all around them, and the battle still raging.
Another Charr made her to Eli to finish her off, but Scipio came to Eli's rescue again, firing the pistol at the Charr's head, killing it instantly.
Scipio picked up Eli again and carried her off the courtyard, to the market steps, where he tended to her wounds until the end of the battle. Scipio heard more cheering from the courtyard as he tended to Eli's wounds. He ran bak to see that the Charr were driven back, that the arrow carts were raining death onto the ramp, and the Hawkgates were slowly closing. Charr renegades scrambled off the courtyard, racing to get out of the gates before they sealed shut, only facing a rain of arrows and ballista fire as soon as they escaped.
Scipio turned back to Eli. Her wounds were serious.
"Healer!" Scipio called.
Another bloody assault on Ebonhawke is over, and the great fortress of Ascalon still stands.
A few minutes after the battle, Commander Samuelsson and the lieutenant came over to Scipio, who was still with Eli. She lost consciousness, but the healers told Scipio that she would live.
"You!" called the lieutenant, "You abandoned the battle for the Hawkgates! A deserter!"
"Deserter?" Scipio replied, "My comrade and commander was wounded. I had to save her!"
"You do not save the life of one to jeopardize the lives of many! One life saved will not make the difference!"
"Then you'll understand that I, myself, would not make much of a difference on my own, then lieutenant? You had the battle. As soon as those arrow carts were operational, they fled. We won."
"You are not part of that victory, ranger. You disgrace the Ebon Vanguard with your cowardice. As a captain of the Ebon Vanguard, I declare you discharged from the Vanguard, and to be deported from Ebonhawke immediately!"
"She's the best ranger in the Ebonhawke. There's no way I would let her die like that. I saved her, and that's what matters."
Commander Samuelsson turned to the captain, "Scipio is one of the best rangers in the Vanguard. He fought valiantly, just as much as you did. Scipio, desertion is desertion, and you cannot stay in the Vanguard, but I'm willing to let you stay in Ebonhawke. Be a free ranger. Help us here."
"I'm sorry, Commander," Scipio responded, to Samuelsson's surprise, "Like you said: desertion is desertion. I risked my life every day as a ranger of the Vanguard. We advance ahead so that men like the captain here aren't shot in the head by renegade snipers, and this is how Ebonhawke repays me. No, I will no longer fight for Ebonhawke. Ascalon is dead, and there are more pressing struggles in this world. I leave tomorrow night."
Scipio's last day on Ebonhawke felt like forever; it was a bittersweet experience, packing his bags in the morning and saying goodbye to all his friends. For the rest of the afternoon, he sat in the Ebon Vanguard sickbay, beside Eli, who had still not awakened. She was alive, however; he felt her pulse and heard her breath.
Was Scipio in love with her? He wasn't sure. He was infatuated, however. He had never known a better ranger, or a lovelier woman. He smiled and shed a tear, as he would not be able to give her a proper goodbye. He wrote a letter for Eli, and left it in a sealed envelope on the table beside her. On the envelope it was addressed, "Eliana Peregrine, Captain of the Ebon Vanguard Rangers."
Scipio took a slow walk through the quiet night streets of Ebonhawke, seeing the sights, hearing the sounds, and smelling the smells for the last time. He bought a few items from the Kestrel Market, and made his way to the Hawke Heart, in the center of the city, where a massive statue of the six human gods stood, honoring Ascalon's past. He had considered hanging his Ebon Vanguard necklace with his name etched on it, on the monument, but he figured someone would just steal it, so he left the necklace in the envelope he had addressed to Eli.
Finally, Scipio reached the Asura Gate. He looked back, at the Hawkgates, the massive walls of Ebonhawke. All his life, he had lived here, he had fought here, for 'Ascalon,' but Ascalon was gone. There were other things to fight for; things that can still be fought for.
Ascalon is but a memory that can never be reclaimed. But out there be dragons and other universes fighting battle in the mists, in hopes of invading our own. Those were causes worth fighting for, Scipio had concluded. He smiled as he stepped into the Asura Gate to Divinity's Reach, the capital of Kryta, and from there he would make his way to Lion's Arch, the gateway to the world.