Winter Freeze

A change in the course of battle is signaled by a change in the weather.

15.

Winter Freeze

 

 

Redburr’s army paused for a few hours, and from the walls of Westmark, it could be seen that they were constructing siege engines.   While it wasn’t a surprise to anyone, the reality that they would soon be under siege sent a sense of doom and gloom over the defenders.

“If only we could destroy those siege engines.” Eleazar told those around him on top of the ducal tower as they peered off into the east, where, in the distance, they could see the work being completed.

“What about a fireball spell?”   Allea Ray, the daughter of Sir Alvis and Zeatt asked.

“It would work on one of them,” Eleazar responded, smiling kindly at the youth.  She was half Drow like he was, and shared his neutral gray skin color, which had created a bond between them.   To the girl, he was more of an uncle to her than the husband of her cousin.

“So we have too few spell-casters?”

“I’m afraid so, sweetheart.   It was a good idea, though.”

“Eleazar?”  She asked timidly, after thinking for a few moments.

“Yes?”

“What about King Haroldris’  ‘Whuo-Nao’? You know: the Firebird statue that he used back against the Necromancer’s Guild.   My Mom took it with us from the Royal treasury in King’s Reach, so we have it here!”

 

Eleazar glanced over at Sir Aeric, who had been suggesting the same thing for several days.   The Paladin just shrugged at the Duke and so Eleazar turned back to Allea, “Allea, that magical device can only be activated by a King, and even then the activation word has to be known, and I don’t remember it, I’m afraid.  Only Sophia would know it.”

 

“I know it!” The pretty girl smiled, her red eyes sparkling.

“How would you know it?”

“My sister told it to me before she and Khord left.   She told me that you’d need it.   She also told me to tell you something when the right moment came.”

“What?”  Eleazar asked.

“Sophie told me tell you to stop being so pig-headed and to embrace the role that Yesh has presented to you.   She said she is completely confident that you will be able to use the Firebird.”

 

Around them, Eleazar could hear some of his friends chuckling, for most of them had suggested the same thing to the stubborn duke.   Eleazar looked over at his wife, son and daughters standing beside him, and then out off into the distance, at the army preparing for a long siege.

“Alright, I certainly can’t argue with a Watcher.   Reverend Mother, would you be so kind as to fetch the Firebird and bring it to me.”

 

Zeatt grinned and came forward, surprising everyone by having the enchanted relic with her, “Here, Duke Dullerm.   My oldest daughter suggested that I keep this relic close.”

 

Eleazar took the bright, gemstone-encrusted statue of an eagle and looked at it with a frown, “Even with the magic words, I won’t be able to activate it.   I tell you all again that I am certainly not a King, nor do I have any desire to be one.   But in this situation, I am willing to try anything.   Allea, would you tell me the words of activation?”

She spoke them softly to him and Eleazar nodded.   Everyone took a step back from him as the half-Drow sighed and without any hesitation (but with skepticism evident in his eyes) spoke the foreign words aloud.

 

Immediately there was the roar of a mighty flame and the Whuo-Nao statue suddenly grew into a flaming eagle, the size of a large dragon.   All around him, people screamed in alarm, and Eleazar even jumped back, stunned at the success and reeling in the implications.

 

“But I don’t know the tongue of the maker of it, so how am I going to command it to act?”  He said to Zeatt and her youngest daughter.

“I know the words!”  Allea replied, “Sophie gave me a book on the language of the Toi-Migg several years ago.”

“Do you know the language well?”  Eleazar asked, impressed with the help Allea was providing.

“Yes, languages are my hobby.  I think I’ve mastered Toi-Migg.”

 

He told her the commands he wanted to convey to the magical bird and the youth pronounced them in the eastern tongue.  

Everyone looked on anxiously as the Duke spoke them loudly to the bird.   It took off at once with a whoosh of flames, and Eleazar seemed greatly relieved when he watched its actions.

 

“Your mastery of that language just may have saved your city, Allea.”  Eleazar said to the girl, who smiled and blushed slightly as her proud father who stood with Zeatt, patted her on the back.

 

***

 

The army of Earl Redburr was poorly trained compared to the Imperial Legions, but were comparably equipped with equipment, weapons, and armor that the Emperor had provided.

 

Yet along with the Imperial assistance, had come priests and clerics of the Nunmontu, who were leading disciples of the sect of Torrin.   Unbeknownst to any of the defenders of Westmark (though some were beginning to suspect this) Torrin taught not only that ‘subhumans’ were cursed by the ‘true God’, but that any sort of magic was evil and should be avoided.

 

At first Redburr’s army had used magic and wizards against King’s Reach, for the Emperor was very reluctant to yield to the demands of Torrin and knew that wizardry was a great tactical tool.

So he sent his mages and magic to assist them, hoping they would be forgotten by the fanatical disciples of Torrin in their absence from the Empire.   But as the sect grew in power, even the Emperor had to submit to their wishes and so no further magic was given to the Earl.

 

As a result, the army facing Westmark, while it was massive in size, lacked any sort of spell casters or magic weaponry.  There were no healing potions, and their clerics were not able to cast spells as they were considered blasphemous by the Nunmontuites.   Only the Amulets of Torrin - which dispelled magic within a 5 yard radius around the wearer, were allowed.   These were the holy symbols of the sect.

 

So when the huge bird made of fire soared down upon the camp of the army of Redburr, no magic was brought against it.   The Amulets of Torrin were out of range of the swiftly flying magic bird and all that could be thrown at it were mundane arrows, spears and javelins.   All of these missiles were consumed by the heat and flame of the Firebird before they could strike it.

 

Pandemonium filled the camp of the invaders.   The Whuo-Nao had received very specific and detailed orders by Eleazar, so the flaming bird immediately targeted the large wooden siege engines that neared completion.   In a matter of minutes, all of them were ablaze and the Firebird moved on to its’ secondary target, which was the supply wagons and tents of the army.   Redburr’s generals had planned for either a quick victory or a brief siege, then wintering in Westmark after it was captured.

 

Suddenly that changed, for the Whuo-Nao was very efficient in setting things ablaze.   All forms of discipline broke down in the panic of the camp.   Men ran in every direction, trying to put out fires, calm terrified horses, or avoid the low passes of the enchanted bird.

 

Nothing seemed to work against it, though they sent volley after volley of arrows at it.   At first the officers tried to regain order in the ranks, but when the Firebird finished setting the wagons and tents aflame, and began to target soldiers, all hope of control was lost.

 

But the rout was not complete.   Just when the troops of Redburr began to ponder escape, there came from the east the sound of drums.   For a few moments they forgot the destruction of the Firebird and stared in horror at the appearance of an army of grim-faced, battle-hardened Dwarves, clad in mail and wielding axes and swords, with the fire of fury burning in their eyes.

 

It was the army of Forgestone, led by King Kylheilm V.   Ten thousand strong, they had marched hard and fast upon receiving news of the destruction of Forgegate, but had been hampered by the loss of the Gorge Bridge.   Now they had found those who had massacred their brothers.   Nothing could contain their anger and they fell upon the disorganized larger army like lions.

 

From the walls of Westmark, Eleazar and his companions beheld the onslaught of the Dwarven army and immediately he ordered the gates open and the Westmark forces to go forth to assist them.

 

Aedric rushed to join them, and the Duke ordered for him to command the Sylvan archers in the melee.   He agreed, yet with hidden frustration, for he longed to join the knights instead of leading archers from his seat atop his warhorse.

 

But he complied, and Mattleos was a perfect lieutenant, relaying the Wood Elves where Aedric ordered.

 

Fortunately, part of his training had been in strategy and he positioned the Sylvan archers to cut off any escape routes to the south or north by Redburr’s men, while also providing the Dwarves and Westmark troops with support as needed.

Still, he felt rather useless astride his horse in full plate armor, merely acting as if he were some important general.   He didn’t know where Snoe had disappeared to, though he surmised she too went with her parents and siblings to assist the Dwarves in battle.

 

He certainly didn’t blame her, but he had thought for some crazy reason that she might stay with Mattleos and him, leading the Elven archers.

 

They were certainly winning the struggle and even nature seemed to be on their side.   For out of the northwest, as was often the case in late autumn in Westmark, a strong winter storm was approaching.   Already the temperature had dropped as the snow-laden clouds rolled in and a bitter northern wind blew.     He wondered if Redburr, who had lived in the southern-most part of Northmarch, had ever experienced one of these powerful blizzards.

 

Perhaps he had not realized how quickly and brutally it descended upon Westmark, and would --to a rather diminished degree-- blast King’s Reach a few days later.   Although all of Northmarch had long, cold winters, Westmark always received the first snow due to its higher elevation and position near the mountains.

As the arctic wind picked up, Aedric smiled, for he knew that any hopes of invasion of the western half of Northmarch was falling along with the temperatures.   It all seemed so poorly planned out for the Earl to have tried this so late in the season.   His numbers were greater, but he had banked on complete success to such a high degree that anything less would probably spell disaster or at least a serious set-back.

 

As he was analyzing this strategy, he was interrupted by the sound of a horse galloping up to him from Westmark.   He turned, but instead of a messenger, he was surprised to find Snoe on horseback, carrying a huge green and gold banner on a staff.   It fluttered in the strong wind, revealing the outline of three golden oak trees in the center, surrounded by some sort of belt or girdle, also in gold, with writing in Elven script beneath it, on a forest green field.

 

It was the banner of Tarmard and he had no idea where she had found it, but her arrival with the Sylvan flag brought a roar of pride from the archers around him.

 

“I thought you might need this.” She explained with a timid smile.   He nodded, still feeling odd thinking of himself leading the Wood Elves, but he said nothing.

 

They watched as the hopes of Redburr’s forces crumbled around them.    The Firebird and the Dwarves had disheartened his men to the point where they lost their unity of purpose and force and now were each just fighting for survival.   The snow began to fall and was nearly a blizzard an hour later when most of the battle was finished.

 

Redburr’s army had managed to escape, cutting through the Dwarven and Westmark line, as well as the Sylvan barrage of arrows, to flee south down the Southern highway that would eventually take them back to Southgate.

 

The Dwarves and the Westmark cavalry pursued them, though Aedric knew they were just going to make certain they had left the Duchy.  But the army that did escape was seriously weakened in numbers.   At least half of their forces lay dead or dying on the battlefield and a large number were injured or had surrendered (usually to Westmark soldiers rather than the Dwarves).

 

There was no mistaking it " they had won this battle, and that was driven home when the enchanted Firebird returned to land at the feet of Duke Dullerm and return to statue form, its mission complete.

 

As the snowfall intensified, Aedric dismounted and joined in assisting the injured along with Snoe, Mattleos and the Elven archers.   Darkness had fallen and the snow had increased to blizzard conditions by the time the last injured man had been pulled from the field.   As the exhausted group tromped through the ankle deep snow toward the eastern gate, Mattleos gave orders to some of the Sylvan archers where to take the last of their injured.

The sound of horses caused everyone to look up, and they watched as the knights who had been sent after the retreating army returned, followed in the distance by the Dwarven army that had assisted them.   They all hurried through the southern gate and out of sight.

“I wonder if Redburr’s forces kept running or if they fought with them?”  Snoe asked aloud as she trudged alongside Aedric.

“Probably kept running, I’d guess.   That is fine by me.   It is too cold and snowy to fight now.   I’ve never seen a blizzard this early before.”

 

Snoe smiled tiredly, “You’ve not spent enough time in Westmark, then.   We are near to the mountains and that means we get a lot of snow early in the season.   It unloads most of the snow on us, so by the time it reaches Dullerm or King’s Reach, it is only flurries.   Even the Faesidhe Forest probably doesn’t get as much as Westmark does, though it is next door.”

“That’s true,” Aedric responded as he wrapped his cloak around him, “The trees keep the early snowfall light.   We’d not see any sizeable accumulation until the solstice.   This snowfall is rather spectacular.”

“Yeah, I always loved it.   I used to think of it as my time of the year since I’m as white as my name.   My parents love it too.   It’s so sad that the first snow of the season has to come on such a day like this.”

 

Aedric looked over at the girl, who seemed to be trying to swim against a torrent of stress, grief and anxiousness, but at the same time, was attempting to appear stoic.

The strong cold wind whipped her long white hair behind her like a banner and she seemed so vulnerable and young at that moment that he drew in nearer to her.

 

He hoped she wouldn’t think he was being too familiar with her as he rather cautiously put his arm around her.   He had nothing to worry about, for she leaned in close to him, sharing in his warmth as she looked up at him with her gentle red eyes.

 

He wanted to say something encouraging to her, but he really didn’t know just what to say that would help, so he simply smiled sympathetically and together they walked through the gate toward the Ducal keep.

 

 

Reviews

[Elina]

"...clan in mail and wielding..." I believe you were wanting "clad" rather than "clan."
"They watched as Redburr’s hopes crumbled around them." Were you maybe meaning something more like "They watched as the hopes of Redburr's forces crumbled around them." ?

This was such a great chapter; Eleazar being forced to use the Pheonix (thereby proving that he's supposed to be the king), and Aedric and Snoe getting a little closer...

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Elina, I'm glad you liked it.