Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
SnitchPogi12B: As I've said before, in this story, Galen and the Pevensies will never be leaving Narnia, so no, that will not be in the future of this story.
Chapter 8
As the sun rises high in the sky over the land of Beruna, a gryphon flies low over the fields towards the rocky hills in Aslan's territory, it's shrieking cry echoing over the land. The gryphon had just come from a flight over the White Witch's army to determine its location and progress, as well as the size and composition of the army.
As it reaches the base of the hills, the gryphon flies over the ranks of Aslan's gathered army The entire army has assembled under its new leadership. Their armor and weapons gleam under the sun as their banners showing their allegiance to Aslan flutter in the wind. The gryphon flies over the army as it begins to circle around to come in for its landing.
At the head of the army, from their position on a small outcropping of rock in front of the ranks, the three leaders of the army look up at the gryphon as it flies overhead. As the gryphon calls again, Galen Marek, on Peter's right side, returns his attention to the field ahead of him.
Galen is fully decked out and prepared for battle. He is wearing a suit of armor that is a mix of chain mail and plate armor, which looks nearly identical to Peter. Although he had never had use of armor before, he felt he needed to here. He recognized that the weapons wielded by the Witch's army could still be dangerous to him, as if he cut them with his sabers, the part still wielded by an opponent could still keep coming, and even the piece he cut off could fly into him, and he also wanted to protect himself from arrows. The chest portion of his armor is covered by a red tunic, with the gold symbol of a lion emblazoned on the front. He has a heavy duty belt at his waist, where his lightsabers hang, ready for use. And on his head, he wears a helmet that he had actually made himself during his time in Aslan's Camp. The helmet is very similar to Peter's, as it covers the side and top of his head, and has a visor to come down to cover his face. The visor, when it comes down, leaves a slit across his eyes wide enough for him to see, and then a slit that comes down over his nose to the mouth portion. The mouth portion, when Galen thinks about, looks almost like the "mouth" part of Darth Vader's mask, but turned on its side and with a slit down the middle. Galen had crafted the helmet this way to make him look as intimidating as possible while still being able to see and breathe while also being easily heard when the visor was down (AN here: imagine Starkiller's helmet from the one Force Unleashed alternate ending, but with the front of the mask being a visor that can lift up).
Beside Galen, Peter also looks out at the field. On Peter's other side is Oreius, his other general besides Galen. Peter is holding his shield on his left, and is riding his unicorn. Galen is riding on Philip, Edmund's horse. Edmund had lent Philip to Galen since he was with the archers on the hills above the main army and wouldn't need him. Galen intended to fight on foot for the most part, but knew he needed to be on horseback for the beginning of the attack. Galen's face is calm and collected, knowing the battle will soon begin, and hoping that the strategies he has come up with will be enough to ensure victory.
The gryphon that had made the spy flight circles around and comes in for a gentle landing, landing beside Galen. "They come, your Highness. In numbers and weapons far greater than our own!" the gryphon warns the three in a tony of great worry.
"Numbers do not win a battle," Oreius dismisses the gryphon's concerns.
"No, but I bet they help," Peter adds, a little worried.
From across the field and over the ridge at the other side, they can hear the sound of a war horn blowing. Galen remains stoic and calm as he watches across the field.
Finally, on a ridge on the far end of the field, a figure comes into view. The figure is the large, black minotaur that serves as the Witch's main general. The minotaur stops at the top of the ridge, looking across the field at the gathered army. He then lets out a bellow before turning behind him, raising his axe above his head and roaring as loud as he can. And from behind the ridge, the mass of the Witch's army begins to appear, bellowing their war cries.
Galen frowns as the army begins to come into view. Thousands and thousands of evil creatures. Minotaurs. Evil dwarves. Werewolves. Ogres. Cyclopes. Several giants. And countless other races of evil creatures who had sworn their allegiance to the White Witch. And at last, the Witch herself comes over the ridge, riding a chariot pulled by two polar bears. She is dressed in a chain mail dress, and wearing a golden crown, with a mane of what looks almost like lion's hair around her head and neck.
From across the field, the two armies face each other down, neither side moving yet, waiting for one side to make a move. On his unicorn, Peter turns and looks back towards the hills and the spot where Edmund is standing. Even from this distance, Peter is able to see the nod his brother gives him.
Peter once more faces the Witch's army. Taking a deep breath, he draws his great sword and holds it out before him. Seeing this signal, a centaur holding the army's war horn blows several blasts on the horn. As the horn sounds out across the field, all within Aslan's army let loose a mass, singular war cry. Their shouts and bellows echo across the field, showing the Witch and her army that they will not back down.
On her chariot, the Witch maintains her calm, emotionless exterior as she commands her general, "I have no interest in prisoners. Kill them all."
The minotaur lets out a loud growl to signal those around him to get ready, and those in the immediate vicinity begin to shout and bellow, the calls rippling through the army as the signal that the charge is about to begin. Hearing the echoing of his troops' war cries, the minotaur raises his fists and lets out a long, guttural roar.
With a surge of war cries, the leading half of the Witch's army begins their charge, rushing en masse over the ridge and beginning their charge across the field towards Aslan's army. The minotaur general leaps off the ridge and charges along with his troops, while the Witch remains in position on the ridge with the rest of her army behind her.
Galen calmly watches the Witch's army begin its charge. Already, he's feeling confident. Only about half the army is moving, and they are not moving with any sort of cohesion and coordination. This shows they have not trained to work together, unlike Aslan's army.
Galen monitors the army's progress across the field. As they pass a certain point, he whispers, "Now." Hearing this, Peter makes a forward motion with his sword. Seconds later, flights of gryphons begin flying over Aslan's army, their cries echoing through the skies. Members of the army cheer the gryphons on, and the gryphon who had brought the report to Peter and Galen takes to the sky to join his fellows.
However, the gryphons are not unarmed. Each one carries a large rock under its belly, either held in its claws or an even bigger rock held in a sling. Peter and Galen had came up with the idea based on their own knowledge of aerial warfare. Galen had seen how effective TIE bombers were against ground targets, and Peter had been through German bombing raids on London. Now, they were ready to see if a similar tactic could work against the Witch's army.
Of course, the gryphons are not easy to miss. There are so many of them with their cries echoing through the sky, that many in the Witch's army see them coming. The minotaur general slows to a stop as he watches them approach, before he calls out a warning to his troops, "Look to the sky!"
However, it's too late to save the army from the bombardment that is coming. Flying over the Witch's army, the gryphons begin to release their payloads. Dozens of small boulders begin to fall from the sky before they begin hitting the ground. The sound of the boulders impacting either the ground or living creatures can be heard over a large area. The sounds of death screams can be heard as many creatures are killed a they are crushed by the falling rocks. Several hundred creatures are killed or badly wounded by the aerial bombardment.
Most of the Witch's army is powerless to do anything. However, most the wicked dwarves under the Witch's control are armed with bows, and the dwarves begin to loose their arrows into the sky. From their position on the ridge, Peter and Galen watch as a number of gryphons fall from the sky as they are hit by arrows. The rest of the gryphons, most of whom have already dropped their rocks, begin to peel away to get out of the way of the hail of arrows. They had caused some casualties among the Witch's army, but had taken quite a few themselves.
Peter takes a deep breath as he looks from side to side, looking at both Oreius and Galen. "Are the two of you with me?" he asks one more time.
"To the death," Oreius responds firmly.
"And I'm with you to the end of the line," Galen answers. He draws his blue-bladed saber and holds it out to the side in a normal grip, igniting it. The sight of the blue blade gives a boost of hope to the members of the army.
Peter focuses for a moment on Galen and gives him a nod, which Galen returns, a clear understanding passing between them. Peter then looks back across the field and, raising his sword, yells out, "For Narnia! And for Aslan!" He kicks his unicorn in the side to spur it on, and the animal rears up and whinnies loudly before surging forward off of the ridge. Galen spurs Philip on after him, and Philip and Oreius take off at a gallop right alongside Peter.
"For Narnia! For Aslan!" the rest of the army behind them begins to echo, and as one, the army surges forward after their leaders. Banners wave in the wind and weapons gleam under the sun as the army rushes forward, moving into battle formation as they charge to meet their enemies.
The army quickly form into a wedge formation, with Peter, Galen, and Oreius at the tip of the formation. The army is still not running at full speed to avoid getting too tired out, and are holding their weapons in the ready position. All eyes are looking to the sides to ensure they maintain their formation, knowing that breaking the formation could have terrible consequences for the army.
Finally, as the two armies get within a few hundred yards from each other, the army under Peter readies themselves to meet the enemy. The cheetahs and jaguars among the front ranks of the army move out in front of the centaurs, with one of the cheetahs moving out right in front of Peter. At the same time, the front ranks of the centaurs lower their long spears, forming a wall of spears at the front of the army, ready to smash right through the front of the Witch's army.
Meanwhile, on Philip's back, Galen leans forward and says to the horse, "Remember, get yourself out of here once we merge, Philip. Take care of yourself."
"You got it," Philip responds.
Galen refocuses on the enemy ahead of him. He deactivates his lightsaber and returns it to his belt before he begins to concentrate on the Force. What he's about to do will take all of his diminished strength he can possibly manage and may leave him unable to use some of his stronger Force powers for a while, but it will give his troops an incredible advantage.
Finally, as the two armies are just little over a hundred yards away, Peter glances at Galen. Knowing that's the signal, Galen pulls himself up so that he is standing on the saddle, stabilizing himself with the Force. Then, summoning the Force to boost himself, Galen springs up into the air. He's boosting himself with the Force to such a degree that he reaches a height of over a hundred feet.
For a moment, Galen hangs in the air over the army, all eyes that are able to see him fixated on him. Galen feels the Force swelling through him as lightning crackles along his arms.
Then, with a sound like the sky cracking apart, Galen brings his hands forward and unleashes the most powerful burst of Force lightning he has ever summoned. A burst so powerful it borders on crossing the line into Force storm. The lightning streaks down as one massive blast and strikes the ground behind the front lines. As the lightning hits the ground, it disperses in all directions.
In an instant, the Witch's army's charge is completely shattered as hundreds of creatures are killed, knocked out, or sent flying by the blast of Force lightning. Those who survive are not unaffected, as many are sent into a panic by the attack, fear surging through them as they get a glimpse of Starkiller's power.
What little cohesion the army had is shattered in an instant as a good chunk of the army is taken out in a few seconds, and about half of the army scatters in panic. Even some of the soldiers in the army that remained behind with the Witch turn tail and start to run away as they witness the attack from afar.
Peter is not about to let this opportunity go. Now with his visor down, Peter motions forward with his sword, urging his troops onwards. Their morale greatly increased as they see the effects of Galen's attack, the army continues its charge.
As it does, Galen falls back towards the ground. Although a little tired from the effects of the attack, he is far from being too tired to fight on. He again summons the Force around himself to help cushion his fall, crouching and tucking into a combat roll to further cushion the fall. He then immediately pops back up, standing just forward of Peter and Oreius. Galen starts sprinting forward, his armor hardly even slowing him down, and his lightsabers fly off his belt and into his hands in his standard reverse-grip, their red and blue blades springing to life.
With a fierce cry of "For Aslan!", Galen launches himself into the confused and scared ranks of the Witch's army. For the first time in Narnia, the blades of Galen's sabers cut right through the armor and hides of the Witch's soldiers, cutting down minotaurs, goblins, werewolves, dwarves, and even a white tiger. Using the Force to boost his speed, Galen continues forward without slowing down, leaping through the ranks of the army as his sabers flash around him with incredible speed, cutting down an enemy with every stroke. Anyone in his path scatters in panic, terrified of the warrior wielding swords of light.
Behind him, the rest of Aslan's army crashes into the Witch's army. The centaurs' spears kill most of the front ranks of the army, the sound of breaking wood and dying creatures combining into a loud, terrible sound. Discarding their spears, the centaurs switch to their main weapons, and begin carving their way through the Witch's army, Peter right in the middle, cutting down creature after creature with powerful strokes of his sword. All the while, Galen continues his relentless attacks, his sabers creating a trail of death through the army.
At last, the battle for the fate of Narnia has begun.
And, I'll end the chapter there. I didn't want this chapter to go on too long, so I'll try and finish up the battle in the next chapter, where we will see Galen face the White Witch personally.
Next chapter should be up soon. Until it is, please leave a review and stay tuned!