Chapter 32: Darkest Before the Dawn
The Battlefield in Southwestern Falena, 338 Solar Year
All eyes were on Alen as they were absolutely surrounded by this vast army of the undead and were now outnumbered nearly 2-to-1. The aging commander turned once more to his magical unit captain. He asked Tarshish, "Did you bring the scrolls as a backup plan as Lady Tanya suggested?" He nodded and added, "Most have Canopy Defense, Charm Arrows, and Dancing Flames spell scrolls, Sire."
Armed with this new information, Alen barked out new orders to his surrounding officers and captains of war, "Gather your men and get them back into a fightable formation. Units 2 and 4 you are the strongest defensive units here take the spellcasters with the Canopy Defense scrolls, and hold the line at the valley opening behind us. Don't let them through! Don't give those undead bastards an inch! Units 1, 3, and 5 will join the Dragon Horse Knights in clearing us an exit back to the shoreline. Those spellcasters with offensive scrolls support them where you can. Now hurry! Mow them down!"
The undead hordes seemed to slow down and stop for a moment, before resuming their normal march. Alen prayed that their little temporary pause meant Marcus and Jeane had started engaging those three generals in battle somewhere. Because right now everything was depending on them. Would this army live or die today? The answer would be decided by the winner of the other fight, thought the aging warrior.
Alen started to see the golden lights behind them in the distance. These were powerful defensive spells that had been placed into magical scrolls by rune sages. The runic units were hard at work at erecting protective barriers all around them.
Several hundred zombies back in the valley behind them started pushing on one of these Canopy Defense barriers. In hopes that brute force would be enough to undo them. Of course, it was not, as that particular spell was the strongest defensive barrier in the Earth Rune's arsenal.
Others on the peripherals went around the borders of the shields by climbing up the cliff walls or by going up and over the surrounding hills. Unit 2 went north while Unit 4 was deployed southward to intercept these undead forces who were going around the barricades of the Canopy Defense spells.
Steel swords and spears sliced and stabbed the undead, but they kept coming. The moaning of thousands of zombies paralyzed several living men with fear. It drove others mad and enraged some to begin 'killing' as many ghoulish creatures as they could to make the noises stop.
Some men would finally fall from exhaustion and 3 or 4 zombies would move in for the kill. Using their superior physical strength to rip off the fallen soldier's limbs. These were the lucky ones as they were already passed out before the real damage was done. Because other warriors still alive and conscious would also get overwhelmed by these undead forces. They would be pinned down and slowly eaten alive.
One archer seeing a friend from his childhood had befallen this horrific fate and in his cries for help and mercy were heard and the archer helped him. The bowman with his superior aim shot an arrow not at the zombies attacking his old acquaintance, but at the man himself. Killing him instantly and putting him out of his misery.
On the other side of the battlefield, Alen and his forces were trying to break through the eastern line and fight their way back to the Feitas River. Alen deployed the Dragon Horse Knights to do this while his units held off the northeastern and southeastern flanks from sandwiching in the amphibious beasts and their riders.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise of thunder off in the distance. Several looked up, including Alen, in order to see a powerful magical light show. Fire and Lightning was flying everywhere on a mountainside. It was a powerful runic spell no doubt. "It looks like a Flame Array combined elemental attack." shouted Tarshish to his commander with a small grin on his face, "There is some series magic going on up there, Sir."
Moments later, the zombies again stopped, frozen for a moment before pressing their attack again. Alen drew his own weapon by this point along with the other main officers and were slaying all the reanimated creatures that they could as well. Alen said more to himself than anyone else after they paused for that brief moment, "Good work, Marcus. Keep it up! We're counting on you. I'm counting on you!"
One dragon horse warrior had gotten cut off from his main company. His sword drawn; the man tried fighting his way through a cluster of rotten human flesh that was trying to kill him. Soon a dozen of them had surrounded the great beast and had him trapped. The dragon horse using its superior size and large tail swatted several away. But eventually, he too succumbed to their vast numbers as dozens of wounds from teeth and claws brought the amphibious creature and his rider to their knees.
The man knew both their ends were at hand. He pulled out his dagger and with tears in his eyes shoved the sharp weapon in the back of his faithful companion's neck and then removed it and stabbed himself in the chest. Choosing to die fast and painless, rather than be slowly eaten alive by these undead demons posing as human beings.
Now both men and beast were growing exhausted. Every report that came back to Alen was worse and worse news. The canopy magic was starting to wear off as scroll spells aren't as effective and long lasting as the runes they're derived from. Several archers were low or out of arrows entirely. So, they had picked up the melee weapons of the fallen men just so they could have a fighting chance.
The rear lines were slipping. And the frontlines still had not manage to cut a clear path through the zombies, so they could retreat back to the ships and the river. Yet, still the undead creatures kept coming. Many marching in perfect formation with one goal in mind kill all they could along the way.
In spite of his aging body and broken arm, Alen was still quick and precise with his sword. He was still skilled enough, even one handed, to dispatch all the undead that came against him. But, like his men he was growing weary as well.
Without warning he was assaulted from behind. A zombie had pushed him to the ground. He rolled over onto his back as quickly as he could; further injuring his already broken shoulder. However, in this moment of pure adrenaline he didn't feel a thing.
Despite being on his back he thrusted his sword into the creature, which only slowed it down. That bought him enough time to rise to his knees though. He pulled out his blade and swung it hard across its neck. He decapitated his would-be killer in one swift blow.
The moment of triumph was short lived as now three more zombies came moving at him. There was nothing he could do to fend off all three at once and he knew it. "My wife. My children. My country. Forgive my weakness..." he said under his breath.
He closed his eyes waiting for death to come. But nothing happened. Alen raised his eyelids, they were frozen again. Finally, another moment of relief came when once again the zombies were paralyzed. Alen stood back up on his feet and yelled out, "Don't waste the moment men that Lord Godwin has bought us! Cut as deep a path through these unholy demons as you can."
Alen looked up toward the mountainside again. Once more he saw another amazing light show as runic powers clashed. He didn't recognize it as elemental magic this time though, but rather as blue and purple shades of energy that were violently smashing together. Whatever was happening, he thought, as long as it was continuing, he knew Marcus was alright.
It is only if the light show ended and the zombies kept coming would he then know that the two mages had failed and that would mean his army's survival would be in even more dire jeopardy. For now, at least, they still have some hope as the magicians on the mountain continued to duel.
The small amount of progress they made breaking through the undead ranks was quickly undone as the men had to fall back, or risk getting trampled by hundreds of zombies that moved in to fill the gap. Moreover, something different was happening with the zombies as a whole. They were starting to break ranks and formation, which was a good and bad thing, Alen observed.
They were moving more like a panicking massive mob now. There was no longer any order to the undead creatures. However, their aggression seemed to go through the roof. They were now attacking everyone and everything indiscriminately. Even some zombies attacked other zombies. It was complete pandemonium and he and his men were trapped in the middle of it all.
Suddenly, battle horns could be heard coming from the Feitas River. "Reinforcements?" asked one of the officers who had made his way back to Alen in order to protect him. "I don't know. I don't recognize the sound. It is not any horn that this army uses." replied the tired and confused swordsman. The sounds of the horns grew louder until three large galleon-type river boats came into view over the horizon.
Soon hundreds of figures seemed to disembark from the ships before they had even pulled ashore. They were still too far away to see them clearly. But, unless Alen's dim old eyes were hallucinating it looked like several hundreds of new warriors had arrived with bows and arrows in hand. Alen didn't see any metal armor reflecting in the sunlight, so he didn't know whose battalion they belonged too. But in that moment, he didn't care. He was only glad to see them.
This moment of excitement, sadly was immediately replaced by one of dread. As all these unknown warriors seemed to be raising their bows and getting ready to fire their arrows on the mass horde of zombies before them. The only problem was that Alen's own men were now in that mass of bodies fighting and he worried about the new friendly fire killing his own men.
He yelled out to wait so he could pull back his troops, but it was no good. These unknown archers were easily a few hundred meters from him and his voice would not carry that far. Especially over the sounds of battle, zombies moaning, and men yelling.
The hundreds of arrows were let loose flying high into the air. What did they expect to hit from shooting that far away? Thought Alen. Expecting the friendly fire, every soldier with a shield raised them high, as the first volley of arrows came thundering down. Thud, Thud, Thud could be heard all over the battlefield.
As hundreds of ghouls were still attacking the Falenans and had paid no attention to this new threat from behind them. Suddenly, hundreds of them fell to the ground motionless. Alen stood amazed and in awe as he looked up and down the line. Not one of his men had been hit. Only the zombies. Had this been pure luck? A miracle? Or were these unknown archers more skilled than any he had met in his whole life?
"Remarkable! And at this range too!" he yelled. He looked up in the sky again as more speeding black blurs were whistling across the cloudy sky. Again, the arrows only hit the undead. Whoever these men were, what they were doing, it didn't seem human. Then it dawned on him, those fighters were not mere mortals, but they were elves! But how he wondered?
His troops didn't seem to care or think about these things as three more volleys of arrows were being launched, killing even more of the undead. At last, the way was cleared! Alen ordered his men to regroup at the beach with these archers.
Most of the soldiers were surprised now to see that it was elves that had saved them, but they were still grateful. Just having these reinforcements seemed to fill the men with hope. Plus, many exhausted fighters seemed to find their second wind with the arrival of these new allies.
The whole frontline adjusted itself. Several elves started casting Wind, Water, and Shield Rune spells to heal the physical health of many wounded men, who were quick to rejoin the new frontline, which had formed by the beachhead.
Alen made his way through the crowd of men and elves, because he saw someone he recognized. It was Robert! He was standing next to three important looking elves. Robert saw his lord alive and smiled and bowed. "Commander Alen, forgive me for arriving late to the battlefield. But I was asked to get some special reinforcements from Lunas."
The old leader was still in shock, but asked, "How? Why would elves help men? Help us?" Before Robert could speak, the more official looking of the three elves spoke up, "You must be the human chief in charge here? (Alen nodded still perplexed.) I am Ren, Chief of Alseid. Indeed, your servant here, came to meet us in Lunas late last night. We've been sailing all morning and feared we would not reach you in time to be of any use to you. But now we can fulfill our oath to the human who saved Alseid and the lives of most of my family."
This response gave Alen more questions than it had answered. He looked to Robert for some measure of clarity. He seemed to understand and added, "He means Sir Lazlo, Your Grace. Apparently, the Islander helped save their village some time last year during the official talks. They owed Lazlo one. And he called in the favor yesterday after I found him. We got some boats from Barows and here we are. They will help us fight. Speaking of which... Excuse me, Sire, my blade is hungry for battle!"
With that the large halberd wielder took off to the frontline without saying another word. Several of the soldiers around them saw the giant of a man in all his full Queen's Knight garb rushing into the fray of battle unafraid. Thus, several tired troops now drew courage from this and followed after him into battle.
The more regal of the three, Ren, turned toward the two other elves of distinction behind him and said, "Findus, Iolis, lead our troops. Kill those zombies. Fulfill our promise to Master Lazlo! Help end this threat of darkness that has been nipping at our heels long enough!" The two smiled with serious delight. They bowed and left their master's side.
Findus, the green-haired elf, grabbed his bow and led several other archers toward the action. Likewise, the bald elf, Iolis, took a group of elves carrying melee weapons and went to join Robert at the front of the pack.
The zombies were still not organized, but were still overly aggressive and murderous. However, they were getting dispatched now easily enough thanks to the arrival of fresh troops. The human and elf groups were slaying zombies by the dozens each moment. It was hard to tell who had defeated more. Robert would later joke with his friends many years from now.
Then a great noise sounded. It was like that of an explosion, which echoed throughout the valley floor. It was coming from the mountaintop. All the zombies again became paralyzed. All gazed upwards as two very powerful fire attacks could be seen burning as large flaming rocks fell from the sky onto that part of the battlefield.
Then, more elemental magic and flashes of blue dark energy were clashing like two male rams charging horns against each other at full speed. Next, there was a quiet and stillness that seemed to last forever. It was an eerie calm that felt unnatural to all the living people there.
The zombies started moving again, but they were no longer attacking anyone. They were just wandering around the valley and surrounding hills aimlessly without purpose. The battle was over! Cheers of victory started to echo throughout the whole camp!
Alen looked up to the mountain where he knew Godwin and Jeane were standing looking down on them in victory as well. He spoke softly so that only really Ren, who was standing by him could overhear, "Well done, Marcus, Jeane! Well done!"
When it seemed like the cheers and celebration around the shoreline had died down, they erupted into nearly a frenzy again. Marcus and Jeane had rejoined them at the camp. There was a look of joyful triumph on Godwin's face.
After much more praising and fanfare, the two tired magicians were summoned to join Alen and the rest in one of the ships. It took them back across the river to Doraat to join Tanya and Desmond. They shared all that had happened to them both on the mountain above and the valley below.
Robert reported that he would be sending several patrols over the next few days to finish off the leftover docile zombies still roaming in the hills. Moreover, the 9,000 men who had lived this day would need many more weeks to fully recover, reasoned the Queen's Knight.
In addition, Alen then thanked the two ambassadors for all they had done in helping to plan the strategies that brought them victory this day. Tanya said nothing, but smiled and just bowed her head politely.
Desmond added, "It was nothing! It's what political allies do. We help each other in times of need. Plus, it seems the real credit goes to Sir Lazlo and his brilliant idea to ask Master Ren and his kin to help this day." Everyone agreed and thanked the elves again. Ren and his followers remained stoic, but nodded their appreciation at the compliment.
Godwin, changing gears a bit, asked if there was any new news about his wife, Nyoka, or Lazlo. After it was stated there was none. Jeane, then, told them about what the last priest had told them about all this just being a distraction, which was designed by Nyoka to allow him to carry out his dark rituals of ascension to godhood without interference after he got the Sun Rune.
Tanya now spoke up at last, "If Nyoka gets the Sun Rune. He will be pretty much unstoppable, right? The Sun Rune is a True Rune, is it not?" She directed this question more at Jeane, the knower of practically all things rune-related. The attractive sage said, "Yes. That is why Lazlo is our best chance right now. Since, he also bears a True Rune. Tee-hee."
Several were shocked by this statement, which left the Islanders to explain Lazlo's true origins and history as the bearer of the Rune of Punishment. It was nothing new to the elves' ears. However, for Godwin and Robert it was like someone had crashed through their house with a river boat. They were stunned. After this new revelation was thoroughly explained, Tanya tried to redirect the conversation back to Nyoka by asking what was their next move.
The three elves and Jeane all attested after this information was shared, that they could still feel Nyoka's dark presence in the Queendom. Despite defeating his sinister generals and legions of undead forces.
"So, what should we do, commander?" asked Robert looking at the old warrior poet. Alen, then in turn, looked at Godwin, "Yes, New Commander of the Queen's Knights, what shall we do?"
All eyes turned to Marcus. At last, the power and honor he had always wanted was his, but he was too tired mentally and physically to now bask in it. Also, he knew all his troops outside were tired as well. Godwin really didn't know what to do. Commander of the Queen's Knight Marcus Godwin was at last feeling the full weight and burden of leadership and all the responsibility that it entailed.
All he could say was, "We'll gather the men and return to Sol-Falena and protect the Queen and the Sun Rune. That is still Nyoka's goal most likely. So, we shall be the last line of defense between him and the True Rune should Sir Lazlo (he said his name begrudgingly) fail to stop that crazy Nagarean. For now, let's just put our faith in the Islander (he couldn't say his name twice) and see what he can truly do."