Chapter Two: Bigger Threat?

Chapter two of War Cry.

Crimson.  It ran down the length of Leyesha's arm as she sat against the wall in her barracks.  She wore a sleeveless shirt to give the wound some air.  She could feel the small gusts of wind from the window touching the bloody mess delicately.  Her blue eyes were on the wall across from her, her hands folded in her lap.  The previous day had been a tough one considering she and her Captain had been stranded from Freluna, and had been attacked in the very field that Freluna's trade rode sat on.

 

It wasn't surprising, as of late many rival mercenary corps were getting more and more desperate as the Phoenix Fire reputation continued to escalate.  There wasn't much stopping them from being the most reliable and most often chosen mercenary corps in all the world.  It was because of the dedication and morale of the Phoenix Fire mercenaries that they were so successful.  Quality leadership was another of the aspects that led them to victory.

Back when her cousin Fyrethil had been the Captain of the Phoenix Fire Mercenary Corps, they had been in their most trying times.  Battle after battle after battle, rarely seeing Freluna during the seasons.  They had lost few battles, and had to perform a massive comeback after each one, but their victories were many.  Those were the glory days, before these dull boring times.  There were tales among the mercenaries of Fyrethil and Gorta, the unstoppable duo, cracking jokes and leading the Corps to more glorious victories than any of them thought imaginable.

 

Leyesha sighed, her thoughts on the best images she could possibly conjure relating to those times.  That had been thousands of years ago.  She wished she could have joined her cousin in battle.  The only person remaining in the Corps from those days was Loraina, the fearless Captain that Fyrethil had served under as a Lieutenant and eventually the Vice-Captain.  She had stepped down for retirement, giving Fyre the honor of taking over.  But after he had turned to evil for a short time and wiped out the original Corps single handedly, she came back to assume her rightful position and rank.

 

I wish I could have lived through that.  I wanted to experience the true glory that came with victory in those days.  Fyre used to tell such stories before he disappeared like he did.  Who knows where that legend is now.  People looke to me expectantly because they know that I was close to him before he just took off like that.

 

It was true.  Because she had been such an important part in his life (and probably still was) people looked to her as if she were just as powerful as he was.  The real truth was that Fyrethil was the most powerful being in the world, no one who has challenged his power has survived to the date.  Which was just as well, he was generally a kind person, and would turn down a fight if he could help it.  Just sometimes people were stubborn, but none as stubborn as humans.

 

Not every member of the Phoenix Fire Mercenary Corps was anything other than human.  About twenty percent of the force was human, and only about ten percent were actually Phoenixes.  The majority comprised of elves, and other races that most people had never heard about.  The thing they had in common was they all looked human when they chose to.

 

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and her eyes shifted to it.  "It's open...come in..." she said softly.  The door creaked open slowly and a man walked in.  He was tall, standing about six feet four inches and very handsome.  Ley wasn't attracted to him in the least, but that was because she preferred women over men.  This man, however, was one of her closest friends in the Corps.

 

His name was Hylar, and he was the kindest person she knew.  He was actually a Siren, just like the legendary Gorta.  His angelic wings were folded at his back and his long brown hair was tied back in a tail beginning at the nape of his neck and ending about mid-back, a few strands escaping the tight binding.

There was a smile on Hyar's face and he sat down against the wall beside her.  Ley cracked a smile and turned her head to look at him.

 

"So...how's the arm doing?"  Looking at her shoulder doubtfully.  She shot him a look and he chuckled lightly.  "You know I'm only joking.  I was worried, that's why I stopped by.  You should really get that thing bandaged."

 

"And when have you ever known me to bandage anything?"

"That's a good point."

 

They both laughed lightly and then sighed contently.  "Loraina's been rather worried about me, I take it?"  She asked, the smile slowly slipping away.

 

Hylar nodded slightly, the smile gone from his face as well, replaced by a grim expression.  "She's very worried because you never bandage yourself.  She sees it as a problem.  She says even Fyrethil wasn't that careless.  He always bandaged his wounds as soon as the battle was over, he never delayed."

 

"That's my cousin, Lar, not me..."

 

"I know, but that's what she said, I'm just pointing it out to you.  She says she wants you to come by the office later on, and she's also wondering why you're not in your own office."

 

"I needed some time to think.  If I'm in my office people are always coming to me for things.  Our Mercenaries seem to be very paranoid when it comes to skipping steps in the chain of command."

 

Hylar chuckled again and planted a friendly kiss on the side of her head.  "Yes, well, we can't be relaxed all the time...come on, you should get to your office."

 

Ley stretched and smiled slightly, closing her eyes.  "I think I'll stop by and see Loraina first..."

 

"That...would be a good idea."

 

 

*     *     *

 

"Do you see that?"  Xethal looked over the ridge at the valley below, ignoring the pain of his bandaged left eye.  "It looks like they're moving closer to Freluna..."

 

"That's a rather large force, too..."  Xethal's partner, Juthen was right beside him, bandaged only on his left arm, his blade sheathed at his back, but his bow in hand.  He and Xethal had been selected to scout on an unknown enemy movement, supposedly headed for their trade city and headquarters.  It was eerily large, as well.  It appeared as if this unknown force was banking their fires, either preparing for sleep, or to move out.

 

The wind licked delicately at Xethal's long silver hair.  Xethal was a mage and a warrior combined.  His blade was sheathed at his side, and a dim glow could be seen at the small crack between the end of the sheath and the hilt of the blade.  His rather small form gave him perfect stealth in the night.  The moon was in a position where they were in the shadows instead of directly visible.

 

A man exited a tent and began barking orders in an unrecognizable language down below and the whole camp seemed to begin bustling.

 

"They're moving out...and they're heading right for headquarters..."

 

Juthen gave his partner a quizzical look as if waiting for orders.  "What should we do?  Should we head back and warn the Corps?"  There was tension in his voice, and it cracked softly at certain points.

 

"We have to, if someone doesn't get word in soon, they could be on top of Freluna and they would have no warning.  Back in the old days that would have been no problem, but we don't have the leadership the Corps did then, we only have half that leadership."

 

"Too, true...we should head out.  This could be a bigger threat than we thought."

 

Xethal stood up to go and began heading out quietly, but Juthen stood up.  "First I'd like to do something to hold them back a bit."  He said and notched three arrows.  He aimed carefully at the commander and let them fly.  They flew through the air with a soft whitle as the wind rippled through the fletching.  One scored the commander in the chest, knocking him off his feet and to the ground.  The arrow had pierced his heart, and killed him instantly.  A second arrow had scored a hit to the flank of a nearby horse, and the third arrow landed in the dirt.

 

Juthen stood only for a moment to watch panic spread through the camp before following his partner back toward Freluna.

Author's Note

Took me a while, but it's finally here.

Reviews

[Sarah Morgan]

This was a long one.. hopefully your going to be adding much more to it. : ] It's like almost 5 am here wish there were more to read of it cause I can't seem to get to sleep, but good writing. I liked it A- Loooot.