The final battle II

The morning dawned gray and cool. The weather for the north-lands was always chilled in the early months of fall. The men built fires and brewed tea to give them strength and heat themselves. Herbs were added to the tea this morning which would kill pain and stimulate the fighters and men drank cup after cup.1

The Habrien had already stored away enormous bundles of arrows in the trees leading up to the estate and the final wall. They took no part in the morning preparation, preferring instead to stay on the alert. The Kellen on the other hand, and the Chili players were engaged in a new game of their own invention. The Kellen would fire off red stone with their slings and the Chili players would catch them out of the air with their nets and toss them around. They would pick a spot and the last man on each successive round of the game would hurl the stone into a tree or rock. They seldom missed. Bjorn wondered how they could remain so nonchalant with what they must know was coming. But, they went on with the game as if they were on some sort of lark.2

The Eek horsemen had formed up into two V formations, one in front of the other. The stronger horsemen were placed in the back with the strongest in the center. What they had in mind, Bjorn had no way of knowing, but he was sure it would be an effective plan, whatever it was.3

The rangers took up a classic formation in lines, with great rolling shields which some inventive spirit had proposed for their advancement. Two men, one on either side of these shields would push them along the shields would remaining closely bunched. Behind them, the men threw spears the remaining rangers waiting with long pike poles, their swords sheathed. When the rangers reached the thick of battle, they would separate enough for groups to go through with pike poles the rangers behind them waiting for any flanking movement or those who managed to get past the bristling pike poles and shields. 4

The aristocracy had begun to arrive in number that morning. They were shocked at what they found. The village women quickly led the royal families away to the mountains, where Bjorn had opened his cavern castle. It had been well stocked, the caverns quickly converted to quarters and a small hospital had been set up as well, in the event some of the royal families were hurt. More would be arriving and no one knew if they'd be able to get away when the battle was in the thick. 5

Many of the men of the nobility had offered to join the fight, but their offers were declined, though they were armed to guard the caverns. The defenders were grateful for their offers but knew they couldn't take the chance of any of the royal families members being taken prisoner. By mid morning the last of the royal families were on their way north to everyone's relief and no one else was scheduled to arrive for the games. This meant they would be safe at-least until the regular army could arrive. The one thought now was to hold out until runners sent to Quanx reached the city and alerted the military. The men steeled themselves for the inevitable now, determined to fight to the last man.6

The first signs of the Kensen arriving was signaled to them by the Elos watching from above. The signal came that the cavalry was on it's way. The Eek took to the field, with Kellen running up ahead and diving into pits, pulling sod patches over the openings to their tunnels. As the Kensen shock troupes on their mounts came up over the ridge, Ralak raised his sword and brought it down with a chopping motion. And, the battle was begun.7

The twin V's raced out, the huge war horses of the Eek dwarfing those of the Kensen. As they reached within a hundred yards of the Kensen, the first V became a long line, the center riders pounding on while the flank riders drew to a slow charge. The spaces in the line widened and the second V rode through the gaps, with the strongest riders center most pulling out and away from the rest. Since the center of the first line had engaged first they were stationary as the rest moved on. The Kensen continued to advance, but they were being cut down by the Eek in droves. Each man drew two huge swords and whirled them like reapers, hacking the Kensen to pieces with each spin of their wrists. Kensen were taking their tole as well but only after an Eek warrior was so thickly engaged he was unable to ward off the attackers. 8

As the field began to run red with the gore of war, the front lines of the Eek were gradually backing up. Those unhorsed went on fighting, stabbing and slashing down the attackers. As more enemies poured onto the field the Eek fought with desperate abandon slaughtering thousands, but finally succumbing to the unending flood of so enemy warriors, fighting to the last man.
The Kensen seemed to think this a sign that they were winning and only at the last second when Kellen came leaping out of the ground with their slings firing did it become clear this was just what the defenders had planned all along. The explosions spooked the horses and men were thrown from their horses all over the field. The second they hit the ground they were either set on by Kellen or struck by arrows from the Habrien. The remaining mounted Eek, continued to hack their way ahead, dead piling up everywhere. Bartok responded by ordering in his foot soldiers. As these men advanced, the cannons were brought into play. The Kensen fired off broadsides into the Eek and Kellen, and the devastation was dreadful. Giant and elf were reduced to fragmented pieces along with their great horses, but survivors continued to fight.9

The Chili players joined the melee with abandon, ganging up on some of the most successful Kensen warriors, as was the way of the game. The most dangerous went first. The rest came second. The Kensen saw some of their finest soldiers fall and a stalemate seemed to be developing.10

"We're driving them off," Melki shouted. "Let's get more men onto the field." His volunteers and those from the Rugis estate rushed in to join the battle. Heads and arms seemed to be stacking up like chord wood all about the warriors but the Kensen were no cowards and fought on. When the cannons were brought into play, broadsides sent riders spilling, the overwhelming number of infantry on the Kensen side of the battle finally forced the defenders to fall back. The Kensen rushed ahead now, drawing up their cannon and settling in behind them in siege. The cannon balls pounded the walls. The first walls came apart under the withering attack, but the defenders simply fell back to the second. The Kensen warriors running on ran into the pits. Well placed stones fired by catapult set these aflame. Attackers like human torches ran screaming desperately trying to put themselves out. And,still the Kensen advanced. 11

The battle raged on all day. By evening, the number of defenders was considerably less and more Eek dropped out of the saddle taking up places among the Chili and Kellen at the front line while the rangers covered the flanks and filled the gaps in the ever thinning ranks of defenders. The Chili players seemed to forget they were fighting a war, as the battle progressed. Melki, who had arrived on the last wall beside Bjorn was shocked at what he was seeing. "Do you see what those lunatics are about, Bjorn" he shouted pointing. "They're acting like this is some kind of game. Look at that!"12

It did, indeed look as though the Chili players believed they were in a giant tournament. They were catching the red stones the Kellen were firing from their slings and passing them to each other. When one had a clear shot at a cannon the player would hurl the stone into the cannonaders and the explosion would blow the cannon to pieces. Bjorn watched this with fascination. Finally, he turned to Melki. "I think they know what they are doing Melki. And, it's taking it's toll."13

Fatalities to the Chili players were tremendous but they fought with no weakening, smashing down the attackers, hurling themselves in unthinking, killing Kensen by the score until they were finally dropped themselves. As the Chili players concentrated on the guns, the Kensen charged into their ranks. For every cannon taken out two or three Chili players were cut down from the sheer force of number. They showed an uncanny lack of fear standing back to back fighting with their nets, smashing heads and breaking legs and arms, screaming defiance as they were overcome. Bjorn had never seen any army which seemed to be enjoying itself as much as these Chili players, being cut down as they were, they laughed at the Kensen, yelling insults and tackling them, pounding them into the sod one after another, seemingly undaunted by the fact that their comrades lay dead all about them in gory horror. The Kellen were, if anything just as happy taking up the game along with the Chili players. They raced in hurling a piece of stone and leaping onto their enemies backs, hammering them down with pure brute force, regaining their feet and going to work in hand to hand combat of the most gruesome kind. Man and elf literally reduced each other to bloody slivers as the battle raged on. 14

Finally though the defenders couldn't hold. The Eek drug back as many of their wounded comrades as they could while the rangers gave cover, fighting a desperate rear guard. Rangers fought the Kensen with sword and dirk, hand to hand, slashing throats, gutting, pummeling with bucklers. The Kellen disappeared back into the ground, while the Chili fought on attacking anyone or anything that moved. As the final ranks of the Chili sacrificed themselves the castle guards left the walls determined to aid their comrades. The last of the Chili to fall was Daka, fighting four Kensen single handedly, breaking skulls with the handle of his net, skewering others with a sword he'd picked up from the ground Even after an arrow from a Kensen archer struck him in the head he fought on. Only when blinded by his own blood was he taken down, strangling the man who stabbed him to death Unceremoniously the pirates chopped him into pieces while they screamed with furious frustration.15

The last stand was now at hand. Korok drew up beside Bjorn and laid out his spears there on the side of the last wall. The cannon were wheeled into position and the catapults loaded. Men lined the wall and took up bow and arrows. Kensen were flooding into the field, bringing up their cannon and it was obvious what their plan was. The cannon would be used to blast the wall to pieces and the defenders would be taken down by the sudden onslaught of the Kensen wave. Bjorn's one thought was that Ana was safe in the high mountains with the Elos and the royal families should be as well, hidden in the caverns. He regretted the fact that he would never be able to hold her again, and he felt the blood churning in him, the anger filling him with a blood fury. He picked up a buckler and drew his war axe.16

No one could fault the men for failure to stop the Kensen,for they had done their best. All those remaining before the final assault could hope for was the arrival of the army of Sudra. But, no one was fooled. They all knew they were alone and would die that way. The army wasn't coming. A passive acceptance spread through the defenders as they waited. They saw the onrushing Kensen and steeled themselves for the last act of defiance. No one would go without taking as many of the enemy with them as they could. The men looked to each other saluting and waving their weapons, yelling and gesturing in contempt at the Kensen. "Come on you bastards, let's have it!" Melki was screaming, pacing the wall, "Come and kill us, we're waiting for you!"17

Then, as the men made their peace with their Gods and prepared for the conclusion, whatever it might be, a very strange thing happened. Far off in the darkening skies shadows started to form around the pastel white moon that hung there. More and more of these shadows gathered. It was something no one had ever seen before. It was the Elos, the men on their swans and the women riding their flying carpets the geese drawing them along. The entire population seemed to be up above and coming towards them. Lower and still lower they flew until the Kensen saw them too and began to fire arrows up, futilely because the Elos were still out of range. The Elos drew ever closer, more and more joining the flood And then, it happened.18

Bjorn looked at the leader and suddenly gasped. "Ana!" There was no doubt about what he was seeing. Ana, on her carpet with the two giant doves drawing it, was in the front of the rest. As her carpet sailed over head a young Elosian elf riding with her dropped something over the side. There was a sudden explosion and violet flame burst out. As Ana, flew past, she took time to wave, while Bjorn stood stunned. 19

Now the rest of the Elo's came on like a torrent. A purple mist spread over the Kensen while red stones rained down on the pirates ranks exploding, setting off more of the violet flames. The Kensen ran around like mad men, either on fire, or trying to avoid becoming so. The Elo's continued to release more and more of the violet powder and dump baskets of red pebbles into the middle of the Kensen ranks, fires were erupted everywhere. The field was soon a churning mass of flame and explosions, arms, legs, heads flew in every direction and the remaining Kensen cowered while Bartok screamed at them to continue the fight. 20

But the Kensen were now in full retreat. No longer terrifying they looked like rabbits scurryiing for their burrows. At this sight first the Eek and then everyone else rushed off the walls to strike down those running from the flames. The Eek remounted and routed the Kensen on the outside while the rangers poured arrows in from atop the walls. The Kellen had a field day rushing across the field. The flames, no threat to their thick hides, ran through the heat striking down the Kensen at will. Within an hour of the sudden appearance of the Elos Elves the battle was over and there wasn't a single Kensen still standing. 21

The defenders stood in the middle of a gore covered field, staggering back to the wall in a silent parade taking stock of their fallen comrades, the anguish finally coming out as they saw all those who had fought so bravely and died with such honor. The Chili players, almost to the man, lay dead. Only a few players survived wounded, mourning their great champion, Daka. Bjorn reflected sadly that he'd never seen Daka play though he had certainly seen the greatness of the man in the battle. He wanted to host the funeral for all those men, he decided. They'd have the most glorious memorial any warriors had ever had. The Eek had lost a great many men as well, and the rangers numbers were cut by half. The same was true, sadly, of the Kellen who had done so much. The red elves seemed stoic as they collected their fallen comrades, as was their way, carrying them back to the tunnels in silence. The only defenders who hadn't suffered great losses were the Habrien, who came through with as many men as they had started with. 22

Bjorn wandered the field for a time, trying to find Daka's body. Finally, exhausted, reluctantly he gave up his search and struggled back to the wall stumbling inside, heading for the wells where he could wash up. Then he felt a hand on his arm,and, turning, saw a smiling Ana. 23

"I said I would have a surprise for you Bjorn." she threw herself at him and they held each other the longest time. Then he felt her whimper and he let her slip back. "I wish I had been able to make it sooner. So many didn't have to die."24

"Ana", he sighed, "we knew what we were doing when we started this. And, you saved many. No one expected to live past this day." He dried her tears with his finger tips and kissed her. "I'm so proud of you Ana," he whispered to her. He kissed her again and swept her up carrying her over the fallen bodies. "Now, let's go home."