Chapter 29

Steel Upon Steel

Balsilide

Will resisted the urge to wipe the sweat of her brow. A quick glance at her phone confirmed what she already feared. The girls had only minutes left before Kandrakar disowned them, and their powers were removed. Will took solace in the fact that Rikar was sweating equally as hard. Although he didn't precisely know the mechanics behind the Guardians mission, or their time limit, he was smart enough to know that the girls were not supposed to be on Balsilide. And he knew that the next few minutes would decide everything.

"You are all powerless to stop any of this." Rikar said. "This is not your world. This is not you fight!"

"The second you put innocent lives at risk you made it our fight." Taranee said defiantly.

"Then it is one you will lose." Rikar responded. "I'm not sure how you deceived Kandrakar when you came here, but I am confident that when they find out… "

For a moment Will glanced over at Selna, now standing in a corner with her arms crossed. Kandrakar did not govern Selna. She didn't have to follow any of their rules, and could theoretically force Rikar to end this war. But it didn't take long for Will to realize that wasn't an option. They had no way of knowing what side Selna would take, and after all she had been through, Will wasn't going to make her choose. For better or worse, Selna was out of this fight.

"Haven't you figured out by now Rikar? We've always got a back-up plan." Cornelia said with a smile.

Her friends' words jolted Will back to reality. Remembering that time was of the essence, she fumbled around in her pocket, searching for her phone. She pulled it out to reveal it was already in a call, although the effect was lost on Rikar, who had no idea what a cell phone was. With a triumphant smile, Will held the phone up to Rikar's face.

"I assume you've been listening this whole time?" Will said.

"Yep!" Came the reply from the phone. "Blunk been listening! Heard every word! And big explosion!"

"That's your 'back-up' plan?" Rikar said, eyebrow raised. "A magic talking device with poor grammar?"

Will sighed. So much for the dramatic reveal.

"Get off the line, Blunk." She hissed into the mouthpiece. "I was talking to…"

"Me." Said a familiar voice from the phone. "And yes, Will, I have been listening intently."

"A deeper voice then. Is this supposed to impress me more?" Rikar said.

"Not just impress, but also worry and concern." Irma said. "But maybe you just need to be introduced properly."

The voice on the phone cleared his throat before talking clearly and loudly.

"Hello President Rikar." The voice said. "My name is Himerish. Now what have you done to my world?"

Meridian

Walli stood poised on what used to be a market shop, but was now reduced to a pile of rubble. He surveyed the battle in front of him and let loose an arrow from his bow. In the distance, another Balsilidian warrior fell, an arrow through his right leg. Satisfied with his shot, Walli reached back into his quiver and frowned. Only one arrow left. It would take time for him to scavenge more from the battlefield, so it was imperative that he made this one shot count. He scanned the horizon, and noticed a Balsilidian captain with his back turned. Having made up his mind, the Meridian archer was taking aim when an even bigger target caught his eye.

Out from the dust of the battle rose an ominous black shape. Walli could barely make out through the smoke and haze that the object was a cannon, the largest one Walli had ever seen. Walli moved swiftly through the battle, avoiding conflict as much as he could. After a few seconds, he climbed atop the sturdiest building he could and stared at the cannon.

Balsilide had been smart. The cannon was located at the top of a small hill, and a large group of soldiers was constantly surrounding the weapon. From what Walli could see at first, there was very little damage one arrow could do. The barrel and wheels were made out of a hard, stone like object, and it did not look as if an arrow would penetrate the material.

"Well, that cannot be good." Came a voice from beneath Walli.

Walli looked down to see Aldarn leaning on the stone wall, staring up at the hill at the large cannon. Aldarn had been on the front lines for most of the battle, and was responsible for leading the main Meridian defense force. He had fought many fights during the course of the battle, and the state of his gear and clothing made it clear that he had not won all of them.

"No, it cannot." Walli agreed, refocusing his attention on the cannon. "I assume Caleb will be dealing with it shortly?"

"Actually, I think Caleb is a bit preoccupied." Aldarn said, pointing to the center of the city.

There in the city square, Walli and Aldarn could see Caleb continuing his duel with Balken. One time, a Balsilidian soldier had tried to assist Balken, but Caleb had cut him down without missing a beat. Since then, their fight had been uninterrupted.

"They've been like that for hours." Aldarn said. "Ever since this war began."

"Which means that it is up to us to deal with this new weapon." Walli said. "How many troops can you rally?"

"Not enough to destroy that cannon." Aldarn said. "The defenses they've built around it are too strong. What about you? Can you take it down from here?"

Walli squinted at the cannon, using his well-trained vision to search for any signs of weakness.

"Yes." He said at last. "The axle seems to be made out of wood, not stone like the rest of the barrel or wheels. Perhaps they sought to make the device lighter, or they ran out of materials, but either way, a good shot between the wheels and the barrel would cripple the weapon."

"Excellent!" Aldarn said. "Then you can destroy it!"

"I doubt it." Walli replied.

"What? But you just said…"

"The legion of soldiers around the cannon protects it not only from close quarter attacks, but also ranged ones. Because the cannon is located in the top of that hill, the soldiers are almost always positioned between the wooden axle and me. Their movements are unpredictable, and it would be impossible to time the shot accurately."

"Can't you just start firing away?" Aldarn asked. "I mean, you're bound to hit eventually."

"Last arrow." Walli said, gesturing to his empty quiver. "I could scavenge for more, but I doubt we have that kind of time. I'll only get one shot at this."

"Oh, come on!" Aldarn said, raising his arms in annoyance. "Don't you have any good news for me Walli?"

"Yes. If you give me an opening, I guarantee I'll make the shot." Walli replied.

Aldarn expected to hear even a small bit of doubt in Walli's voice, but the archer remained calm and even. Aldan wasn't sure if he would ever know what it was that made Walli so cold and calculating, and he wasn't sure he ever wanted too. Normally the way Walli could hide his emotions terrified him, but today it made him smile.

"Well then, I guess I can't argue with that." Aldarn said. "Now let's see what we can do about giving you that shot."

Caleb felt the rush of wind as Balken's sword missed his head by mere inches. Caleb leapt to the side and, pushing off hard from the Meridian soil, lunged at Balken. Once more the two swords collided, and one more they both held.

Caleb pressed the attack, swinging first low, then high, but Balken had seen this attack pattern before and was ready for it. Instead of blocking the swings like Caleb was expecting, Balken moved aside, letting Caleb lunge forward unimpeded. Caleb was not ready for this, and stumbled slightly, letting his guard down as he did so. Balken quickly swung his sword, seeking to separate Caleb's head from the rest of his body. Caleb, however, crouched low, allowing the sword to sail harmlessly over his head. Caleb brought his left elbow up quickly, knocking the air out of Balken's lungs and allowing time for Caleb to put some distance between himself and his opponent.

"A cannon?" Caleb said, glancing at the distant weapon. "What good will a cannon do in a fight like this? You'll kill more of your own men then mine!"

"Who says I'm aiming it at the battle?" Balken replied.

Caleb quickly traced the trajectory of any shot the cannon fired and found himself staring at Meridian castle, silhouetted by the sunset.

"The castle?" Caleb asked.

"If the Queen falls, so does her army." Balken replied coldly.

"And if you miss?" Caleb asked. "How many die if you hit the city instead? Would you really kill innocents?"

"For the glory of Balsilide, I would do anything." Balken replied.

"Look around you Balken." Caleb said, gesturing with his arm. "Do you see any glory here? Any honor? Does anyone benefit from this war?"

Balken did nothing but grip his sword tighter, which was answer enough for Caleb.

"There is still time to fix this." Caleb said. "We can still save people."

"No." Balken replied. "Our roles in this play are set. There is nothing left but to act them out."

Caleb tightened his grip around his sword, and brought it up, ready for battle.

"Well then, I suppose the curtain has been drawn." He said, once more digging his feet into the soil below. "Let the final act begin."

Aldarn had always been a team player. If he had wanted to, he probably could have become the leader of the rebellion, instead of second in command. Instead, however, he allowed Caleb to take the position and the glory that came with it, because he knew that Caleb was the right man for the job. And so, after Phobos was defeated, Caleb became Meridian's top warrior and Aldarn got a desk job coordinating the rest of Meridian's army. Still, Aldarn had never complained, because he knew it was for the greater good.

Normally, however, Aldarn got to choose his team. Normally, his team consisted of the best and brightest Meridian had to offer. Today, those best and brightest were strewn across the battlefield, and the only thing left for Aldarn were the 250 men still standing. They were battered, bruised and exhausted, but they still had a job to do.

Julian, Tynar and Drake were among those who had survived till the end of the battle, and they joined Aldarn at the front of the formation. Together, the four of them looked up at their target with worried faces.

"How many do they have?" Drake asked.

"500. A little more then half of the remaining Balsilide force." Aldarn replied.

"And us?" Julian said.

"Less." Aldarn replied. "250 men. All we could spare."

"And one archer, with one arrow." Tynar added. "Do we even know what this cannon does?"

"Do we really want to find out?" Aldarn asked, turning back to the remaining troops.

"Warriors of Meridian!" Aldarn shouted. "The enemy is at our doorstep! They want to attack our city. They want to fire upon our Queen, our people, and our families. And so our goal is a simple one. We're going to stop them!"

Aldarn saw the doubt and fear etched across the faces of his people. These were men and woman who known only war and death for years. Phobos had brought them up on it, and even though he was gone, his legacy remained. There was always a threat to Meridian, and always a battle to be fought. Too many memories of too many battles, and too few victories. The years had taken their toll on the people of Meridian, but Aldarn refused to let them fall now, under his command.

"They think we are weak." Aldarn said, quieter then before. "Balsilide. I've heard them talk. They call us 'poor', 'broken', 'shattered', 'defeated'. This is what they think of us. Perhaps they are right."

Julian had his mouth open, ready to interrupt Aldarn, but something in his friends eyes made him stop. There was a grim determination in those eyes, unlike Julian had ever seen before.

"We have faced tyrants and monsters." Aldarn said. "We had cowered in the darkness for year after year, unable to defend ourselves from the evil that crashed upon our walls. Perhaps we were broken. Perhaps we were defeated."

Aldarn gripped his sword and brought it to the sky, his voice rising with it.

"But we are not now! Today, we fight back the darkness! Today, we beat down those who seek us harm! We stare in the face of death once more, but today, we stand up and say 'no more'! No more will you rule us! No more will you put fear in our hearts! Today we make our stand!"

Aldarn turned towards the cannon below him, sword raised.

"This is the day we will always remember! This is the story we tell our children! The day we fight back! The day Meridian stands tall and steps back into the light, once and for all!"

And from there the fight began, and the air was filled with the roar of men, and the sound of steel upon steel.