The Lord and Lady in the White Tower
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: I own none of this. No, really. Rating: K Time: This is a sequel to the Lady in the White Tower and begins some months after that story ended.
Durko was in the twelfth row of the gigantic block of De Ming's army, armed with a sword, a dagger and carrying a round shield. They were arrayed on the forward slope of a very small rise, allowing the army to look upon their enemies. He looked at the enemy across from them. They had many more horses than any of their other enemies had had. He wondered if he might get a horse when they had won the battle. Perhaps and perhaps not.
He also saw that they wore metal armor. Few of their other enemies had worn such armor. It would do them no good. Their God was the greatest God and would protect them and destroy their enemies.
The priests ran out in front of the block and began leading the men in their chants. Durko knew that if he repeated the chants precisely, he would not be injured or killed. The priests had explained that those of the army that had been injured or died previously did so because that had not properly repeated the chants, or, even worse, they had some doubts about their God. Durko knew he had no doubts about their all-powerful God.
He saw a group of riders head for them. When they were within about three hundred yards, they turned aside. Durko laughed to himself, still chanting. Obviously, the strangers felt the power of their chants and were about to retreat.
But, as the enemies rode across the front of De Ming's army, they suddenly let loose a barrage of arrows. The first to die were the priests. They were facing their army and had their backs to the enemy. Plus, they had no shield to protect them.
Durko felt the rage rising in him. How dare these non-believers kill priests. Other men fell as well. Durko and the rest knelt and got as much of their bodies as they could behind their round shields. Seeing this, the horse archers began shooting their arrows into the air, so that hey rained down of De Ming's army. But as men raised their shields over their heads to protect themselves, the archers shot straight into the mass of men. Soon the horse archers were firing both into the air and straight into the soldiers. Men began to fall.
Then they saw the horse archers ride away. De Ming's men cheered and howled their prayers to their God. Then they saw that more horse archers were riding out and the cheering stopped. The remaining priests began the chants again. Durko chanted as loudly as he could, but he felt some men were not putting their hearts into it.
Again, the arrows flew into the army and more men fell. And once again, the horse archers ran out of arrows and returned to their army, only to have another band replace them.
"The original group of horse archers is back in front of their army." Said a man beside Durko. "They'll be out of arrows and then we can kill them all."
However, the men, women and older children that accompanied the army to provide settlers for the Golden Coast had been organized by Lord Castle to replenish the supplies of arrows. As each half regiment of horse archers came back from battle, they were met by civilians who handed them quivers of fresh arrows. Lord Castle had more arrows than De Ming had soldiers.
As the arrows rained down on the army, Durko turned to the man next to him to chastise him for not chanting, but there was no point. An arrow had penetrated the man's throat. He was dead.
The surviving priests ran through the chants as rapidly as they could. When they were done, the senior surviving priest ordered them forward. The army raised their shields and marched forward. As they did, the horse archers returned to their lines.
Durko was surprised to find that he was now in the tenth row of the army. Had that many men died? But he kept chanting.
As they approached the enemy army, the foot archers began to shoot their arrows. Their bows were more powerful than those of the horse archers, and the range had shortened. Arrows began slamming completely through their shields, killing or wounding more of De Ming's army.
As the enemy archers were firing from the sides of the massive block of soldiers, De Ming's men on the left of the block edged their shields around to cover their left side while the men on the right-hand side of the block moved their shields to the right. Imperceptibly, the army began to bunch up toward the middle.
Durko was in the seventh row when the army hit Lord Castle's line. They did not slam into their enemies as they had in the past. They were too tired and had too many dead and wounded. He saw that they faced heavily armored men with very long spears. The men in front of Durko with spears tried to jab their enemies but couldn't get close enough. A small number managed to crawl under the forest of pikes, but we're killed by men carrying shorter halberds or long, two handed swords.
Durko waved his sword furiously. He could do nothing to damage the enemy. The man in front of him dropped. Durko saw to his surprise that an arrow had transfixed his neck. More arrows flew from the side and then from behind them. The enemy horse archers had again ridden out and were surrounding De Ming's army.
More than a mile behind his army, De Ming watched the battle unfold. He was riding in a litter carried by twelve strong slaves. His entourage, including Meredith the Destroyer, rode in their own slave borne litters.
De Ming thought that the battle was not unfolding as had his previous battles. He was not worried, however. After all, he outnumbered his enemy by more than three to one, plus he knew his God would not fail him. He began thinking of the aftermath of his victory. Meredith had told him that there were some lovely women with the enemy army. He glanced at the three naked slaves he had been using. He decided he'd send them to the Soldiers of God, his personal guards, after the battle. They could have some fun with his slaves while he broke in his enemy's women. That made him smile.
Meredith the Destroyer was in the litter next to De Ming. She was also attended by three naked slave women. Meredith much preferred men to women, but for personal service, men were too clumsy Meredith thought. Then one of the slave women spilled a few drops of Meredith's wine. Furious, Meredith hit the woman across the face with a riding quirt.
"You stupid, clumsy slut!" Meredith raged. "You could have damaged my gown if that wine had fallen a bit closer. You'll pay for that when the battle is over."
The slave sobbed and begged for forgiveness, but Meredith was busy deciding how to punish her.
The commander of the Soldiers of God approached De Ming.
"Great Messenger, things are not going as they should. The enemy horse archers have ridden around the army and are firing arrows into the flanks and rear of the army. Perhaps we should send the Soldiers of God in?"
De Ming just shook his head. There was no need to send the thousand strong Soldiers of God to attack their enemy.
"Not necessary. Soon my soldiers will smash through their center and destroy their infantry. Then their cavalry will run away. My God's infantry always wins the battles."
But as he spoke, a detachment of over five hundred light cavalry, led by a man with a crown on his head turned away from the main battle and headed straight for De Ming and his entourage.
"Perhaps we should put the litters down." De Ming said, feeling a bit nervous for the first time since his very first battle, years ago.
Prince Polito's horsemen, screaming their battle cries, rode towards De Ming and his people. All that protected De Ming and the rest were the thousand Soldiers of God, armed only with swords, thrusting spears, and carrying shields.
The mass of Polito's cavalry began loosing arrows and the Soldiers of God began to fall. Arrows and javelins struck at De Ming's troops from all directions. Then the unthinkable happened. De Ming himself was hit in the hip by an arrow. He screamed in agony. Before his scream ended, he was hit three more times: Once in the arm, and twice in the stomach. He tried to call for help, but an arrow struck his right eye and exited just above his left ear. De Ming, the Messenger, was dead.
Meredith the Destroyer screamed as she saw De Ming fall dead. An arrow struck her in the stomach and she bent over in pain.
"Help me, bitch." She snarled at a slave,
The woman smiled and grabbed a long silk scarf.
"Glady." She said and wrapping the scarf around Meredith's neck began to strangle her as the other slave women began battering her head with a wine jug. When Meredith was dead, the slave women hid under the litter. Surprisingly, they survived the battle.
Durko was almost to the front of the block when he heard a priest scream.
"De Ming the Messenger is dead. All is lost."
De Ming's army stopped in shock. How could this have happened?
Durko took a step backwards and then another, soon the whole army was running. Durko felt a burning pain in his left leg. He looked down to see an arrow through his thigh. He went down on one knee but managed to rise. He could see the enemy advancing towards him. An armored man carrying a two- handed sword stepped out from the phalanx.
Durko stood as best he could and raised his sword, covering as much of his body with his shield as he could.
The man swung his sword, hitting Durko's shield and knocking him backwards. Before Durko could react, the man swung at Durko's shoulder, slicing deeply into it. Durko fell to his knees. He could see the man raise his long sword to deliver the killing blow. He felt a searing pain in his neck and then felt nothing.
Lord Castle released his armored cavalrymen as De Ming's army began to flee. Heavily armored horsemen using lances and swords easily dispatched the fleeing troops. Few surrendered, however. Most fought to the death which came to them quickly.
Castle, at the head of his cataphracts, halted their charge as he saw Prince Polito and his horsemen approaching. Riding to one side of Polito was his ensign, carrying Polito's personal banner. To the other side rode a man carrying a severed head on the point of his spear.
"A good victory, Lord Castle. As complete as any I've ever seen." Polito said with a grim smile. "I bring you all that is left of De Ming, the Messenger. His former slaves got to him after my archers killed him. There is even less of the woman called Meredith the Destroyer, whom you met. What her former slaves left of her could hardly be recognized as having once been human. I fear we have a massacre on our hands, though."
"I do not want my men massacring the enemies once they have been defeated." Castle said angrily.
"It's not our men, Lord Castle." Prince Polito said quickly. "Every one of those people had slaves, many slaves and they seemed to delight in thinking of ways to punish them for even the most minor transgressions. I have seen what De Ming's people have done to slaves. Apparently, they liked to leave what was left of the poor, dead slaves around for the other slaves to see. We'd have to kill the slaves to keep them from taking their revenge. I thought it politic to not interfere."
TBC