#FridayFlash – Battle

This is part nine of my Astral Mage serial, following on from War is Coming!

A horn sounded behind them, and Artemuse turned to see the militia pour over the rise. They moved as a swarm, falling into companies behind the Statue Army. Their commander, a man Artemuse didn’t recognise, broke away and rode towards the Queen.

“We are here, Your Majesty. We managed to rouse the reserve troops as well. We have left a small garrison behind, just in case.”

“Good. Draumir is on his way.”

“Indeed he is,” replied the commander. He peered at the horizon and frowned.

“What strategy do you propose?” asked Eddister.

The Queen spoke first. “Draumir will not merely have men, he will have other forces. The Vaal’kyr will take care of the wraiths, and any other tricks he may have on the astral plane, and the Statue Army will put down whatever they need to. If he’s anything like his father, he will have war trolls and possibly Hellsteeds. Do not engage with either. Focus only on his human army.”

Artemuse gulped. The Hellsteeds were legendary in their ferocity, horses conjured from the depths of midnight and powered by arcane flames. The Statue Army were impressive, but could they withstand such a foe?

“Don’t worry, Arti. The best thing to quench arcane flames is arcane water,” said Eddister, winking. She bristled at the idea that her thoughts were so obvious.

“Indeed. I would imagine that Draumir will wish to speak first – he won’t have expected us to mount resistance, or to have known he was coming, so he may decided to parlay. It’s unlikely, but I’ll speak to him if he does. I want the rest of you in battle formations,” said the Queen.

Eddister nodded and disappeared into thin air, reappearing some distance away near Lord Festiniog. The commander rode back to the militia to pass on the message. Artemuse glanced towards the horizon – the army was now near enough to see clearly. Wraiths dived and swooped across the sky above them, but in close formation – she guessed they’d seen the Vaal’kyr and had lost confidence. War trolls lumbered among the forces, but the enchantments holding them loyal to Draumir were mounted too high. She smiled, the beginning of an idea tickling her mind, and turned to the Queen.

“Draumir’s made a mistake.”

“Of course he has, he should have known better than to march on Rhodenius.”

“No, better than that. I need to speak to Kione.”

The Queen nodded, and Artemuse nudged Mirage to move some feet away. She tried to will herself to enter the astral plane as she had done at the roost, but her body refused to cooperate. She’d have to do this the old-fashioned way.

“Mirage, I need you to keep my body away from the battle. Can you do that?” She stroked the horse’s mane, and gasped when he nodded.

She clambered out of her body, and climbed down from the horse, where her sleeping form slumped forwards in the saddle. Mirage galloped away, taking her body back behind the lines of the militia. Artemuse felt an odd disconnection, watching her body while standing outside of it, but the growing war drums kicked her back to her senses.She assumed the form of a white owl, always easier to manage on the astral plane than in reality, and launched herself into the sky.

The Vaal’kyr had fanned out, forming a line of gnashing fangs and talons above the Statue Army. She picked out Kione, and flew as close as she dared.

“Are you alright, little one? Battle is close at hand,” she said as Artemuse approached.

“Draumir’s done the enchantments wrong on the trolls. They’re too high up. They should be on the breastplate but he’s put them on the helmets,” replied Artemuse.

“Oh has he now!” Kione smiled and looked down at the advancing army. Just half a mile separated the forces.

“I don’t think he expected there would be any resistance from the air.”

“Don’t worry, we know what to do.”

Satisfied that Kione would spread the word of their unspoken plan, Artemuse flew back to the forces. Her heart sank to see the speed at which Draumir’s forces moved – they were just yards away, with no intention of slowing down. Draumir wasn’t going to speak to the Queen after all.

A rumble drowned out the war drums, and the ground between the forces erupted. Jets of water spewed into the air, driving back Draumir’s forces. Artemuse wheeled in the air to see the wraiths close into a tight group, fighting each other to keep away from the Vaal’kyr.

The water died down, leaving the ground sodden and muddy. A figure, clad in black armour, sat on a Hellsteed at the head of the army. His forces stretched away to either side, though Artemuse could see that professional soldiers only made up the first eight lines. The troops to the rear were peasants and farmers, wielding scythes or rakes. The war trolls were dotted throughout the companies, but the Queen had far more Vaal’kyr than Draumir had trolls. His army was outclassed in every way.

Yet still he raised the Black Horn, and blew. The single blast said just one thing. Battle has come.

Continues next week with The Tide Turns!