Rior and I make haste to the markets to gather with Eltera’s defenders. From what I can tell, all the Wyverns are at the gates to greet the Barbaraqs with open arms.
When we arrive, I am surprised by the number of people who have volunteered to protect their homes, armed with all manner of weapons. We find Sparrow ready to lead the charge, clad in black leather armour that clings to her form. She grasps a sword in one hand and a round wooden shield in the other, which is decorated with the blue and white colours of Eltera. Heath stands beside her, having replaced one of his crutches with a pike and his torn tunic with chainmail. The crowd swells around them in restless anticipation.
It is a straight march from here to the city’s gates.
“Orjan, you’re here!” Sparrow seems somewhat reassured by my presence. “What happened to you?”
“Grush!” I rasp. Just mentioning his name brings my blood to a boil.
Sparrow’s gaze drops to the blood-soaked shell in my hand, her eyebrows caving inwards. “You can fill me in later; we need to steady these people. They are scared. It has been centuries since Eltera defended itself from a siege and last time it was soldiers that stood on the front line, not street peddlers and barkeeps.”
She is not wrong. The faces before me are awash with fear, yet those standing on the frontline wear expressions of rugged determination nonetheless.
“Those that can fight, move towards the front!” I call.
Nobody responds to me.
“Clear your ears out!” Heath bellows. “Orjan is here to fight beside you. This is not his kingdom, yet he stands here alongside you, ready to defend you and your families! Now set up formation as he asks!” Heath’s impassioned words hammer into my heart.
“I know many of you will not trust me and I do not blame you,” I say. “I have been lost for some time. But my path led me here, to this point.” I move to stand next to Heath. “I have faced the Barbaraqs, and they fight with a blind viciousness that I have not seen before. They take what they wish, slaughtering anyone in their way. If we are to stand any chance, we need to hold our ranks, we need to stand firm, we need to stand together.”
I peer down at Rior who stands by my side, taking in every word that I speak. “Morgana sends a messenger rides to Askela to call for support from their soldiers as we speak,” I continue, making eye contact with the people in the crowd. “We need to hold off the Barbaraqs for as long as we can. If we do, we may just survive this day.”
Heath raises his hand high into the air. “It is of this day that they will speak! They will tell of how the people of Eltera stood up and fought, not only to defend our kingdom, but the whole of Levanthria!”
The crowd roars in tandem and as a group we fall into a better formation. I turn to face the street ahead of us, Sparrow on my left, Heath on my right.
“Do not break formation, we will use the streets to draw the Barbaraqs from the front. Keep the markets behind us and we will not face any surprise charges from the rear. Use your shields, and fight for one another!” I yell.
I feel a knock by my leg and realise that Rior is still firmly by my side.
“You are showing more bravery than I have ever seen from someone your age, Rior. You should take pride in your actions. If I were still a knight, I would have gladly trained you as a squire.” I pat him on his head and ruffle his hair. In turn, he gives me a nervous smile.
We stare down the empty street in uncomfortable silence, waiting. Above, lightning flashes from the ever-darkening clouds. No sooner does the sky light up, a tremendous crash of thunder roars from above. Rain begins to fall down upon us, and I look up, embracing the cold rain falling onto my face.
Echoed cheers and war cries reach us from the eastern gates, Barbaraq drums hammering almost as loudly as the thunder that tries to crack open the skies. Nervousness sets in amongst the Elterian people, my own heart banging in tandem with the war drums. Barbaraq cheers bounce down the street towards us like stones skipping on water.
“Steady yourselves! They do this to illicit fear, to try and force us to break ranks. Hold your nerve and defend your brothers and sisters,” I cry out as the noise coming from the oncoming Barbaraqs grows.
Then their fighters come into sight over the rise. They charge, their axes, hatchets, and blades raised high as they scream towards us like a raging river. Their numbers far exceed our own.
“FOR ELTERA!” I roar.
“FOR LEVANTHRIA!” Health echoes.
Our people’s own battle cries echo out and the noise is incredible. These people are untrained and unskilled in combat, but they make up for that with heart and passion.
I pull Rior behind me and brace myself with my shield as the first wave of leather-clad Barbaraqs crashes into us with tremendous force. I take no time to heave my shield forward, knocking back the first bare-chested warrior that reaches me. He tumbles to the muddy ground, and I am surprised at the speed at which Rior strikes out from behind me, plunging his knife into the Barbaraq like a viper. I heave my arm forward and slam my shield into the side of the head of another. Their jaw cracks from the force and blood sprays everywhere, soaking my face. I clench my fist tightly and aim a blow at his now misshapen face, sending him sprawling to the ground.
“Hold!” I know we need to stand firm against this initial push, and I plant my feet, bracing against the next Barbaraq who aims a swipe at me with his serrated sword. The weapon clunks heavily against my makeshift shield whilst Rior’s dagger pokes out from underneath me, slashing against the Barbaraq’s leg. The bald man grimaces but does not fall, instead taking another swipe at me. I embrace his blow before pushing back with force, slamming the bottom edge of my shield into his neck. Next, a woman comes at me bearing twin blades, moving with impressive speed.
“Step forward!” I scream, my throat burning as I give the command. I push into the woman and knock her backwards into her ranks. Our battle line steps forward, but we’re not in sync. I remind myself that they have never done this before.
Elterian citizens step to either side of me, their wooden shields clattering into the wall of bodies in front of us. Then they follow with blows from their swords, taking down a row of Barbaraq warriors. Blood curdles with the mud underfoot, the heavy rain cascading a crimson river down the street. We continue to hold, withstanding wave after wave as bodies push against us, steel slamming against shields as the Barbaraqs frantically try to break us.
“Keep pushing back!” I shout over the cries of pain and anger. To my right, a few Elterians fall forward, leaving our formation exposed. The enemy seize their opportunity and pile into the gap, slicing through the fallen Elterians.
“Shit!” I curse as they push through our formation. “HOLD!”
But it is too late. Panic engulfs the front line and despite our best efforts, our formation begins to break at an alarming speed.
“Fall forward, push to the eastern gates!”
The only way we are going to survive now is to push through the Barbaraqs to the far side. I brace my shoulder behind my shield and charge forward. As bodies bounce off me, Rior and the fighters behind me take no time to dispatch the fallen in a brutal fashion. I continue to plough through anyone that is standing in my path and our fighters follow my tack. Bodies fall from both sides as cries of pain bellow out, mixed with the thunder and rain to fashion the most potent cocktail of chaos.
The numbers of our opponents begin to swell, and leather armour painted with the Wyvern colours flashes into my sight as a soldier brings an axe down upon me with both hands, bashing my shield. The force jolts me backwards and my heel catches against a body on the ground. The warrior slams his axe into my shield a second time and I tumble to the ground, landing on the bodies beneath me.
The smell of fresh blood overcomes me and limbs swing all around me as Barbaraqs and Wyverns clash against the Elterian people. My attacker seeks to finish me off, but they don’t get chance; Sparrow rams through the crowd and plunges her sword deep into his stomach until it protrudes from his other side. She rips her sword back until it is free from the Barbaraq’s flesh, his insides on full display as his blood splatters my face. Sparrow offers me a hand, hoisting me to my feet.
“Thank you.”
“You can buy me a drink when all this is done,” she answers, a wry smile on her face.
I parry an attack from behind. “I get the impression you are enjoying this.”
Sparrow spins and extends her sword at an oncoming Wyvern, removing their head in a brutal yet elegant motion. “Why would I not embrace an opportunity to kill those that have oppressed us for so long?”
Another Wyvern moves towards her and it’s time for me to return the favour. Drawing my arm back, I smash my shield into their chest, blasting them into the mud.
“There are too many of them!” I call out.
A brief opening appears through the battling parties, and within that space I see Grush dispatching two Elterians with a weapon I recognise: my morning star.
“GRUSH!” I call out, enraged. Any semblance of control is lost as my aggression consumes me more violently than any curse could.
He stands over a woman he has knocked to the ground and our eyes meet. He smiles, then brings my morning star down on her with a sickening thud.
“NO!” The poor woman never stood a chance against such a brute.
I charge towards my enemy.