The Battered flame: It begins
Marco POV
I gazed across the field, quietly surveying the army arrayed before us. This was going to be a tough one, that was for sure, but, if all went well, this would be the final one. The pay promised to their small band would set them up like kings for the rest of their lives. The kingdom of Swanen was desperate to get any help they could to set this battle more in their favour, and they where willing to pay through the roof for it. Especially for the "Three Flames", the most renowned mercenaries in Mewni, and we did not do jobs for cheep, certainly not ones on this scale anyway.
My hand tightened around 'Dragons Tooth's' hilt, my sword crafted personally by the legendary Dwarven runesmiths of the Raymon mountains. A shadow passed over head, followed by a great billowing of wind, as Lachlan rode over head, his griffin cutting through the air like an arrow through the wind. His passing filling me with confidence, as the passing of my battle-brother always did, a reminder of all we had achieved together. Behind me the nervous twittering of the common soldiers quieted to gasps of awe as the legendary beast began swirling down, claws scraping for purchase against the muddy ground beside me. I smiled up at Lachlan, his own being shown in the twinkle from his green eyes, through his winged visor, keeping in line with his with his blood red plate, and the flaming sword, 'fire brand' grasped in his armoured hand.
"This is going to be a battle, that's for sure." I said, Lachlan's eyes quickly becoming stern at the comment.
"Well just remember, we're here to leave this field as heroes, rich ones at that, not bloody martyrs, so don't you go dying on us." Said Lachlan
"What worried about me?, I didn't know you cared," I joked, with a slight chuckle.
"Well you dying would probably throw a bit of a spanner in the works with kalara, I might need to wait a day or two for mourning you Marco." Shot back Lachlan,
"So still planning on telling her how you feel?"
Lachlan chuckled nervously, "Look at me, riding into battle at the head of an army, but mostly nervous about asking out a good friend. Anyway, enough chit chat, this is going to start soon, I'm better keep moving around our lines, keep up moral and that, see you at the other end Marco."
"Right back at you." I said as Deathclaws mighty wings pushed him off the ground with a powerful gust, staggering the men behind me with its force, but merely billowing out my cape, formed of a raged red hoodie, as I stood stoically at the head of this army.
Behind me stood the front line of over 6 thousand halberdiers, mostly hastily gathered levies, bit with a good number of more veteran mercenaries mixed in to bolster them. Behind them where 3 thousand of Swanens renowned swordsman, formed into a second line to move in to support the fist once they took the brunt of the charge. In the back was 1 thousand archers, this is where Kalara now stood, the elf, aged only 15 like both Me and Lachlan, making up the third and final member of our small band, and also being our master markself, capable of hitting a flee off a yacks tail from a hundred yards, and her magical bow giving her the punch to put down even the mightiest beat within a few well placed shots.
But even as large as the force seemed, the enemy, countless thousands of monsters, led from the back ground by the mysterious lizard toffee, had them massively outnumbered, especially as the cavalry promised by Spiderbite kingdom had yet to arrive. Toffee had been raiding villages of the weaker kingdoms of Mewni for many months now, with the small groups sent to root him out having either not found anything, or, more recently, just straight up going missing. But the whole dimension was shocked when just a week ago, a missive army of over 20 thousand monsters and brainwashed Mewmans had risen around Toffee, and marched out to conquer the first kingdom in its path, which just so happened to be the one we are now working for. This quickly threw its rulers into a panic to gather this army before they lost everything.
Suddenly, from the until now silent army arrayed before them, great horns sounded and the sound of pounding feet filled the air.
The battle had begun.
I ripped Dragons tooth out of another newly made corpse, its arterial blood splattering my face, as I ducked a large swing from a troll, before stabbing beneath its open guard, deep into its chest, forcing it back as it slowly died of blood loss. Around me the brutal melee swirled. Lachlan on Deathclaw flew back and forth, scattering any large groups of monsters that tried to flank our fully engaged line. Glowing beams of light burst through the air, each adding another of the largest monsters in Toffees horde to Kalara's body count as her arrows ripped a bloody toll threw our enemies. I moved through monsters, dealing out death where ever our line began to falter.
Blood covered me head to toe, contrasting with the normally pristine white and gold of my armour, shining from beneath. I ran towards a giant, as he swung his massive, misshapen club, smashing a dozen men flying each time. I skid through its legs from behind, Dragon Tooths blessed edge easily cutting through its Achilles' tendons as I pass, forcing it to its knees, before I launch my sword through its eye as it hunched over in agony, killing it instantly to the great cheers of the nearby men and women as they flooded forward to fill the gap left by the attacks of this once mighty beast, and I retrieved my weapon from its twitching body.
From far behind us, back with the archers, a roaring cheer was heard, along with the sound of hundreds of hooves pounding against the ground, growing louder by the moment.
"MEN, HOLD YOUR LINES! THE CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED!" Lachlans voice rang out through the chaos, bringing even more cheers from the battered defenders.
But strangely enough the Monsters attacking didn't even falter for a moment at this new, and did nothing to move to protect against the new threat suddenly on the field. Then the cheers from the back turned slowly into screams of fear, sending a wave of cold dread down my back, as the until now constant stream of arrows hitting the monsters faltered and stoped.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOONG ON BACK THERE?!" I yell out.
"Oh god. We're under attack from the rear, we've been betrayed!" Lachlan shouted back, with terror now filling my body as I realised how disastrous a situation we were in, "Marco we need to get out of here, call for Nachos, I'll head back to slow them down and make sure Kalara and the king get extracted."
With that Lachlan rocketed off, leaving Me to whistle for my dragon-cycle 'Nachos'. But before I got a chance to do, as I was distracted with Lachlan brother flying away, a massive ripped out tree, taking the role of a club, smashed into my side, sending me flying. I crashed into the ground with laboured breathing, pain flashing from every inch of me, and my last sight, before I lost consciousness, was my battle-brother weaving through arrows as he flew away from me.