Serial
52: The Battle of Totul
January
21st, 33 S.D. 08:22 Totul, Sventa
Just barely after the day had risen, Sventa’s First Division was already bearing down on Totul. They began their mad dash as soon as they came out of a sparsely populated forest. Breaking free from the trees, the warriors set their sights upon their former town. Immediately, scores of equestrians took off along with a number of so called “battle wagons.” These wooden vehicles were designed in much the same vein as regular carriages except they had no cover. A few other parts were missing to make them lighter at the cost of stability, but they transported six easily.
In one such wagon, soldiers sat to either side, stooping low on built-in benches. Holding their weapons tightly as they raced and rattled toward their fates, all remained silent. They turned their heads, looking onwards at the approaching combat zone. The image of Totul and its high walls ever grew before them. Through their minds, the words of the Prime Lead herself echoed aloud, like a live memory.
“Once we reach a distance of two and a half kilometers, we will begin the final stages of our encroachment and the first steps of combat. No less than 50 squads are to deploy ahead of our main force. You will ride in first. For that, you must swift and mobile. Your goal is to reach the gates of Totul as quickly as possible with as many fighters as possible. Your units will lay the roots of our assault, engaging the enemy while the rest of us catch up on foot. There are the catapults to deal with, and the Henron know we will be coming. Even if that were not the case, they have laid plenty of mines for us. However, we will leave these matters to the Wolf.”
A sudden glimmer of blue seized their attention. Whipping around, straining their eyes against the wind, the soldiers saw one rider pull away from the rest. On her stead, Izel the white-haired stallion, Losha surged forward. Dressed in her infamous battle garb, the Wolf of War pelt, she serialized countless speed-steps beneath her horse as both charged ahead of the others. In one hand, she held the rein; in the other she held a long, vibrant beam, her servai. She leaned close to Izel’s neck as she was propelled rapidly over the ground. Eventually she positioned herself at least a full minute in front of everyone. She appeared as if she planned to attack first without the aid of her people, yet this was far from the case.
Upon reaching a certain point, she braked hard and fast. Izel’s hooves burrowed deep into the snow as they slid to a halt. In one smooth movement, Losha swung herself over the saddle, landing evenly on the plain. She ran for but a few short meters before stopping yet again. Here she quickly fell to one knee. She pulled back her fist, balling her fingers tightly within themselves. For a moment, she looked back at her hand, whispering something lowly. Then her eyes locked upon the ground.
Like a blur, Losha slammed her hand down, punching the earth. This was no ordinary attack, however; it was the faithful execution of a powerful series. In this single motion, she unleashed massive amounts of kinetic energy. As her arm shuddered from the impact, it were as if a violent tempest blew at her face. Air rushed past her, wildly tossing her hair and the pelt’s tail around. At that same instant, the snow in her proximity began to lift and roll as if it had become a wave. This pulse expanded fast, spanning over the land in a wide semi-circle. The crest easily stood some 15 meters tall, though as it soon reached a diameter of 500 meters it lowered a bit. Still, it was more than enough for her purposes.
The wave soon arrived at the mine field, all according to the plan. As the wall tumbled towards Totul, it swept up the mines. Like someone shaking the end of a small rug, they were chucked and tossed. Losha’s attack picked them up with such speed and intensity that the mines outright detonated. At least a few hundred explosions sounded off in the distance. Each blast erupted a pillar of snow skyward, filling the horizon with an artificial winter storm. For a time, the sight of the town they were to recapture virtually disappeared from view. When at last it returned, the wave still descended upon Totul having lost only a fraction of its overall strength to the miniature bombs.
Henron soldiers stood atop the parapets as the snow came at them with a seemingly unreal haste. By the time they realized what was coming, it was far too late. Losha’s wave crashed into the town walls, quaking the very foundations of these fortifications. As if on the sea, the wave broke against the stones, splashing high, up, and over, raining down in bits. The Henron positioned so near to Losha’s stratagem were thrown back down to the streets as the blow struck all of Totul’s western perimeter. It did more than just knock the soldiers back, however, it formed a mound that neatly sloped over the gates.
Having observed her work, Losha stood up and made a short gesture with her hand. From behind, Izel came running. As he passed by her side, she grabbed hold of him and flipped herself on top, all without either of them stopping. By that time, the others of the Sventa army had gained on these two. Together, everyone headed towards Totul. The way forward, however, was not without danger, for the Henron still had eight catapults in operation. As Losha came into range, they wasted little time in targeting their foes. An instant later, several large hunks of stone were hurled across the air. These projectiles had been heavily doused in oil and set aflame. Although this would not necessarily increase the damage they caused, it made the boulders all the more visible so the Henron could make adjustments on the next shot. It also had the effect of inspiring fear among the Sventa, so they hoped. Indeed, as one Sventa soldier stood up as his wagon rocketed along, he grabbed the railing and looked overhead.
“Shrieks,” he said breathlessly. It were as if meteors fell through the atmosphere, streaking straight towards them. In a matter of mere moments, it appeared as if these burning masses would outright crush them. As their fiery trails danced closer and closer, Losha took command once again. With her brilliant servai in hand, she raised its point at the incoming rounds. Slicing her weapon to the side, she cast another series. From the ground, columns of ice launched high above the battlefield. Growing quickly, they stretched upwards until they met each volley the Henron had sent forth. As if plucking them one-by-one, the ice near instantly froze the massive rocks in a thick crystal bulb. The flames extinguished immediately as the hulking stones remained suspended. Totul was just ahead, and the way had been cleared; the Sventa stormed on without hesitation.
Having spent all of their available shots, the catapults needed to reload before they posed a threat again. In this brief period, the Sventa had one objective: reach Totul and get out of the catapults’ range. The weapons would ultimately be ineffective if they came close enough. Losha glanced behind her and then back at their awaiting enemies. As she calculated, they’d get to town in time. She, however, planned to get there much sooner. Once more, riding on blue streams of light, she accelerated Izel and herself, flying over the land wildly with speed-steps. Seconds later the pair arrived at the forefront of their foes. Scaling upward, the snow acted as a perfect ramp into the stronghold. Before going up, she pulled Izel over to the side and eased him to a trot. Descending from her horse, she looked at him but once. Losha knew he’d probably been bred a war-horse, but she didn’t want anything to happen to her partner.
“Go, Izel. Find me when this is over. You have done well my friend.” She wondered just how much they understood each other, whether one could fathom the thoughts of the other. Whatever the case, Izel reared up, kicking and twirling his legs about as he let out a proud neigh before running off. Losha smiled faintly for a time, yet she quickly pivoted around. Facing Totul, she tightened her grip around her servai. Leaping forward with a sudden burst of velocity, she used speed-steps to climb up the huge snowbank. Just then, dozens of soldiers on horseback and in wagons came as well. The transports parked as the personnel hopped out the back and over the sides. She needed to clear the way for them so they could break into Totul, however, her prime objective remained the catapults. With those devices still active, Delri and the rest of the First Division couldn’t get close to Totul.
Bounding up the incline, she took her servai in both hands, drawing it behind her as she zipped ahead. At the very top, she jumped at the end of her final speed-step. Soaring, she moved above scores of Henron soldiers who could but look at her in awe, and later in fear. Losha nearly collided with the roof of one tall building on her descent, however, she saved herself with some swiftly applied serialization. Using ice again, she formed a slide beneath her feet, laying down a path that gently guided her atop the roof. Stepping onto the structure unscathed, she then glanced around, taking stock of her surroundings. Several squads of Henron soldiers had already gathered below her, pointing in her direction and calling to the others.
As she had expected, the catapults were clearly visible. After finding what she had to destroy, she turned north and prepared to engage. Just then a few arrows sailed past her, and a bullet bounced harmlessly off the kinetic force-field projected around her. Losha nevertheless ignored these. With a few additional speed-steps, she skipped from house to house, ever approaching the nearest catapult. Upon coming to a grand, dome-shaped residence, she flung herself onto its edge and ran to its highest point. Here she could view six of the designated targets.
Pausing, she held her free hand before her. Cutting it to the left, she commanded several kinetic series remotely. She generated huge quantities of heat around each of the installations, causing them to ignite. Each site lit up in a flash as the contraptions roared to life, covered in red. Whereas they may have once been formidable machines of death, Losha had reduced them to torches at best. Putting her back to these burning towers, she locked her gaze south at the last two. She’d have to double back to demolish them. Upon seeing them, though, she gained a most ingenious idea. An instant later she had already plotted its full execution.
She ran all the way to the tip of the dome and jumped back to ground level. As soon as she had landed, a horde of Henron assembled to fight her. By her estimates, based on the number of seras frequencies, nearly 50 came at her in a sort of mob. However, she perceived them as more nuisance than threat. Armed with swords and poleaxes, the soldiers intended to hack her to death, but Losha of course held other plans. With a swipe of her hand, she serialized a crackling line of electricity that lashed out at the attacking Henron. All but a handful were draped in a hail of sparks as their bodies seized up. Her servai was a much more efficient tool when it came to the amount of seras it used, but it was strictly for close-combat and certainly not for handling crowds. As the Henron fell to the streets in heaps, only five were left standing.
Wasting no time, Losha went up to them with her servai raised to strike. Since hers was not really a physical weapon, it sliced through bodies as if they weren’t there at all. Even through armor and shields, her servai phased through everything, like the blade of a ghost. Each hit threw up a dazzling wealth of color from her opponents. It were almost as if they bled liquid light; it was in fact the visual manifestation of their seras being torn away from their souls. Without seras, one grew weak and incapable; ordinary non-serialists such as them had little seras to begin with, so in only a few slashes, Losha had handily defeated them all. As her foes collapsed, their bodies flickered with traces of branching light. With the present way clear, she directed herself to the two remaining catapults.
Crossing half the distance, Losha found herself beset by more squads. Given that she was in occupied territory and that an entire Henron order surrounded her, Losha knew she couldn’t expect to get far without encountering trouble. As the soldiers formed ranks amongst themselves, Losha did not stop running. Though they sought to choke off the path, she easily removed them with a quick kinetic series. As if caught by a gust, the Henron were blown down and away. Some were pinned to the floor; others were thrown harshly against nearby structures. At any rate, she wiped them out of her way. A small number of stranglers remained, but she cut them down with her servai as she hurried past them.
Before her, a short sprint ahead, the first catapult came into view. Looming above her, the great war machine was being prepared to fire again. Henron bustled around frantically as they tried to man the weapon. A Range Lead barked out orders, directing people left and right as best as she could. The female officer happened to turn around and saw the other catapults searing into ashes. Already, four had caved in on themselves. She scowled to herself for a moment before her eyes latched onto Losha. The Range Lead move to draw her blade, but by the time she had reacted, Losha had carved her servai deep into the woman. Without a word, she crumpled to the ground. The others were soon alerted of Losha’s presence, however. At least 20 soldiers moved as if they meant to respond, each readying their steel.
“I-it is the Wolf!”
“The witch is here!”
“Shrieks, this is bad.”
They were about to lunge at her in retaliation, but a Field Lead raised his arm. “Halt!” he said. “This post is as good as lost. Retreat, now!”
“But... Field Lead...” one protested.
“That is an order. She will crush us if we stay here.”
“Before you go,” Losha said, coming to a stand-still. “Do take your commander.” With a kinetic series, she lifted the fallen Range Lead, levitating her towards two Henron. They took her by the shoulders, all the while looking queerly at Losha.
“It would not do to abandon your comrade. Not here of all places. Not with what I am about to do,” she said.
The Field Lead looked at Losha for a moment then turned, ushering their lot to leave. “Move it, people.”
“You sure about this?” another asked.
“We get to walk away from this one,” the Field Lead answered. “Only thing that matters.”
Thereafter; they scampered off, leaving Losha by herself. She glanced up at the catapult for a brief moment then looked at the base. If she did it correctly, she’d take out more than just this troublesome thing. She held out her hand as blue light enveloped it. A pale aura surrounded her open palm and her spread fingers. Slowly, she curled them both into a fist, and as she did so, a powerful kinetic series began. Cracks snaked up and down the catapults wooden frame as splintered ejected. She applied enormous amounts of pressure at the base, causing all of its support to give way. As the catapult started to groan and snap, it listed to the side. Eventually, it fell with a sick, heavy thud. The bulk of it lied parallel to the wide street, effectively blocking several major thoroughfares. That would serve to inhibit the Henron’s movements as the First Division entered Totul. While the enemy was cut off, the Sventa could safely assemble. Only one more catapult needed to be destroyed.
Losha used a speed-step to jump on top of the catapult then promptly crossed the other side. Down the way, like before, a group of soldiers were desperately trying to prepare another round. In fact, they were really only seconds away from actually firing. Dashing towards them all, Losha slid to a stop and waved her hand over the Henron. Out of nowhere, snow sprang off the ground, wrapping around their legs. Before they even realized what had occurred, it had already transformed into solid ice. Immobilized, her foes could do little to work the deadly device. Only after Losha had cast this series did they take note of her arrival.
She walked evenly towards the catapult almost ignorant of the soldiers themselves. They looked at her in a mixture of shock and rage, but her attentions went elsewhere. In an attempt to stop everything, they began to raise arms against her. Their actions proved futile, however. Every one of their weapons - as soon as they had moved to touch them - had frozen over. Out of reach, Losha stepped forward and pressed her hand against one of the catapult’s supporting beams. She grabbed as much as she could and then pulled. Like a toy, she wrenched it loose, using a kinetic series to rip it free. Though the beam itself was long and heavy, something three people could hardly move by themselves, she handled it with one arm. It actually felt weightless since she was just using serialization to move it. To the Henron, however, it appeared as if she possessed some superhuman strength.
Carelessly, Losha tossed the beam aside and stepped away from the catapult. It began to sway unevenly until it finally tilted over. As she had expected from the start, she watched the giant sling knock against the southern wall of Totul. The impact crumbled a section of the barrier, creating another opening for their take-back operation. While the dust floated down upon the earth, Losha turned around and serialized a signal flare. She pitched it straight above Totul, letting its light endure for a while. That would let Delri know she could safely advance.
The Sventa had already taken up positions along the western wall, carefully making their way down to the streets. The fighting there called to her as the Henron were sure to focus their resistance at this invasion point. A Field Lead and his squad had managed to make their way over to Losha. They glanced curiously, if uneasily at the iced Henron still in the area.
“Ver Holvate,” the Field Lead said with a salute. She wanted to correct him, but the time and place were most inappropriate.
“This sector is secure,” she said. “All of the catapults are down.”
“I see,” he replied briefly staring up at the bright spot hanging over them. “That means our main forces will be here as back up soon.”
“Indeed,” Losha said as she started walking off; her servai stayed close at hand. “Nevertheless, let us make short work of the Henron. We should be able to deal with half of them all before Delri comes.”
“H-half?! But that is... thousands.”
“You are right,” Losha said, charging ahead. “We should be able to fend off even more.”
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